Land Use
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Portraits
Jen Osha
The following portraits are part of hundreds in a portrait-story project telling individuals' stories of Appalachia—click here to see all the Voices for Appalachia.
Jen Osha
Forest Resources and Timbering
Introduction to Forest Resources on Coal River Mountain
Coal River Mountain lies within the central hardwood region (CHR), a forest type comprised predominately of hardwoods as well as conifers such as pine, hemlock, and spruce. The CHR is the “largest and most extensive area of deciduous hardwoods in the world and represents a rich mixture of valuable tree species that is approaching the threshold of economic maturity” (Hicks, 73). The use of one term to explain the forest resources of this area, however, can be misleading due to the high diversity of the tree species. This region is one of the most bioloically diverse
temperate forest regions on earth, with as many as 30 tree species at a single site. The effects of aspect (the compass direction that a slope faces), slope position, and elevation produce a high diversity of species. Northern hardwoods are found primarily in the higher elevations, oaks on south-facing aspects and lower hills, and mesophytic hardwoods on north and east aspects and within coves (Hicks). Soils, too, can vary quickly over a short distance due to the same factors. Perhaps the best way to understand these generalizations is that the most common characteristic of mountain forests is rapid change due to the many niches created by mountain topography.
Sandy Bottom. Photo by Sam McCreery.
Impacts of MTR on forest resources
In the southern coalfields anthropogenic forces have once again dominated the forest through the region’s close ties with the national need for coal-fired electricity. Ironically, some of our national environmental legislation has had devastating impacts on the deforestation of many areas within the southern coalfields. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, known as SMCRA (smack-ruh), was an attempt to address the horrendous loss of life in the Buffalo Creek tragedy where a mine refuse dam collapsed. Despite SMCRA's attempt to abolish strip mining (as West Virginia attempted to do) it created a loophole “big enough to drive a coal truck through." Through SMCRA, companies who removed entire mountaintops could avoid the requirement to restore the land to its original contour by stating that the mined land could be used for a "higher and better use. As a result, areas mined by MTR methods are left as grassland or occasionally a prison, subsiding school, golf course, or Walmart.
In the process of mountaintop removal mining, the topsoil is usually pushed into the valleys instead of spread back across the surface to facilitate reforestation. The soil that is returned is covered with lime and hydroseeded with grass. Coal companies also compact the soil. Bill Maxey, the Director of the WV Division of Forestry from 1993 to 1998, retired due to his concerns about the impacts of MTR. "In other words, our valuable hardwoods forest is lost for the next 150 to 200 years,” stated Maxey. “[It’s like] trying to plant a tree in concrete. It doesn’t work.” As a well respected forester, his stand against MTR served as a strong condemnation against MTR. Three days before he died of cancer, Maxey said (through his brother): “we’re sacrificing thousands of acres of productive forests for a short-term gain by a relative few. But unfortunately, those few are politically powerful people." (Oct 1998 Ken Ward Charleston Gazette)
Photo by Sam McCreery.
When preparing the land for blasting, the trees are usually not harvested. The forest is clearcut and burned. Even local residents wanting to cut the trees for firewood are turned away, and the trees are wasted. [quote here] The picture at the right shows trees that have been cut down and burned in preparation for blasting on the Bee Tree permit on Coal River Mountain.
Timbering in Dry Creek, on Coal River Mountain
Photo by Jen Osha.
In addition to the destruction of the forest on MTR permit areas, many residents are also concerned about the impacts of timbering in the headwaters of the hollows. The picture to the left is taken looking up Dry Creek, and the timbering can be seen on the mountainside in the background. Residents of Dry Creek have already noticed an increased in flooding in the hollow, and are concerned about water levels rising even before the start of MTR operations.
Additional concerns include a move towards clear cutting as opposed to selection cuts, where trees are harvested with concern for regeneration of a healthy forest. One local resident notes, "back years ago, when they would come in and timber a place, they would cut the big timber and not leave the messes that they’re leavin now. In 6 or 8 years, it was back. The smaller timber had a better chance to grow after the big timber was cut. But now they’re cutting everything. . .and they just leave it. They don’t clean it up. When you see that they’re doing the clear cutting, you know what’s coming behind that. They just don’t care."
To learn to identify some of the major trees found in West Virginia, read this WV Forestry pamphlet.
Here's a poster "dealing with the concept of the community forest and the impact of mountaintop removal mining on this significant indigenous system," in the words of Tending the Commons curator Mary Hufford. It was produced by the Center for Folklore and Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania, for a workshop on mixed mesophytic community forestry, presented to the Appalachian Center for Etnobotanical Studies, University of West Virginia, Morgantown, WV. Copyright, Center for Folklore and Ethnography, 2007.
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Journey Up Coal River by Aurora Lights is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. |