By Al Skinner

Visiting reclamation sites stir up mixed feelings of pride and frustration.  It’s prideful to view reclaimed areas that bristle with newness, yet blend in with the landscapes of Mother Nature.  It’s also frustrating when the coal industry is slammed hard for mountaintop removal and every other kind of evil doings allegedly associated with coal mining.

If non-believers were to visit the Birch River Mine Complex in Cowen, WV, they would have an epiphany.  In this awakening, they would see acres of green grass and contoured hillsides boasting of trees of all species. The revered American chestnut tree, once decimated by blight, is making a comeback, thanks to the good works of reclamation people.  Birch River, for instance, planted hundreds of American chestnuts this past Arbor Day with the help of school kids, with a hybrid seed that is immune to the blight.  Soon, the prize of the forest will once again grace us with its majesty.

In all, Birch River has planted nearly a million trees, mainly chestnuts and hardwoods, in its reclamation projects.  Multiply this by hundreds of other coal operators who are doing the same, and we are way up in the millions of trees that will someday grow into forests that are better planned than Mother Nature’s sometimes bush-infested gardens.

So, before non-coal people lambaste the coal industry, do some on-sight, hands-on research!  As we keep saying, the media is interested only in the “before” and not the “after”.  Like we have said in the past, good news is “no news” in the yellow journalistic eyes.  How many times in the past have national magazine’s gone to the worst sites in coal country, and, in particular, West Virginia and photographed poor, illiterate areas.  That’s news. A mountaintop operation in the works isn’t the prettiest sight, but nobody takes into account the finished product.  Build a house, a road, a mall, or whatever, in the early stages of construction and it’s usually a mess.  Same with a coal operation.  Give these guys a chance to finish the job, and then make a judgment.  But, again, that isn’t news.

Incidentally, all environmentalists aren’t extremists. The inspectors from the environmental departments are a big help on the job, keeping the coal operators on the proper regulatory road.  And operators welcome this.  It keeps them within the regs.  Some inspectors have had important roles in the overall reclamation project.  These are the good guys.

The suit-and-tie sorts from the asphalt jungles, who wouldn’t know a tree from a parking meter, are the bad guys. Nothing can convince them, not even the best of reclamation, mainly, because they don’t want to be convinced, lest they lose the purpose which organized them.  Get it?  Remove the fictitious problem, and they are out of a job.  At least, that’s the way we see it.

Coal people are outdoorsman of the first degree.  They hunt, fish, camp, etc., and what better credential does one need for true environmentalism? 

Make it a point to visit a reclamation site; you’ll be impressed by the end result.  Good reclamation has become a source of pride among coal operators.  Within these pages, you will read about reclamation heroes across coal country. They have “raised the bar” of reclamation excellence.