The following is from a Op-Ed piece featured on Kentucky.com. The author discusses the positive impact surface mining has had on what is being called “the 16-county elk zone in southeastern Kentucky”.<more/>Creating a ‘New Savannah’
By Bill Carman (Kentucky.com 12/27/08)
Much has been written about the ills of surface mining. As in all human endeavors, there have been abuses, but those abuses should not be the yardstick used to judge an industry. Most drivers are not drunk drivers, most politicians are not thieves, and most surface mines are not environmental disasters.
Aside from the jobs, level land and energy produced by coal in Eastern Kentucky, surface mining has another positive impact rarely discussed.
When the early pioneers came to Central Kentucky, the Inner Bluegrass Region was teeming with bison, elk and other wildlife. The habitat was perfect, a diverse mosaic of park-like openings rich in native grasses.
Biologists now call that environment the “Bluegrass Savannah.” Of course, with a few modest exceptions, that habitat is now gone. The last elk and bison had disappeared by the mid 1800s.
Twelve years ago, a handful of visionaries who had seen the vast grasslands created by reclaimed surface mining speculated that elk just might thrive on that remote and lush environment. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources commissioned biological and sociological feasibility studies and began public access negotiations with coal companies who owned many of these huge tracts.
That work resulted in the release of the first seven elk in 1997. Today there are 10,000 wild elk on this new savannah in southeastern Kentucky.
These majestic animals have become a catalyst for tourism. Cottage industries such as horseback elk tours and the gathering of shed antlers have provided a unique sense of ownership for a population of Kentuckians who have rarely had something no one else has.
The elk have also become a focal point around which professionals with traditionally conflicting views on the environment have gathered in the spirit of cooperation. It turns out that what is good for the surface-mining industry is also good for elk, bobwhite quail, frogs, butterflies and a host of imperiled songbirds and other wild critters.
Agronomists will tell you that this reclaimed mine land is not an authentic savannah with a thick rich soil profile that took millions of years to form. That is true. But, the elk and songbirds don’t know the difference. And, in that spirit of cooperation, coal companies are now restoring soils better and planting grass species more suitable for wildlife.
Both our natural and man-made worlds are works in progress. Working strip mines are gosh-awful ugly. So were the smoke-belching Yellowstone wildfires of the late 1980′s that blackened the landscape.
That catastrophe was the subject of environmental panic. Would our beloved Yellowstone ever recover? We now know that from those ashes sprang forth a new green habitat that became a smorgasbord for Yellowstone wildlife.
Likewise, the land changes caused by surface mining have resulted in lush green hills reminiscent of the grassy mountainsides in the Rockies, now replete with the bugles of bull elk.
The 16-county elk zone in southeastern Kentucky is roughly 4 million acres in size. Much of that land is reclaimed surface mine, an area comparable to the Inner Bluegrass.
It is a region rich in music, crafts and folklore. It is now richer in diverse wildlife habitat. The sounds of bugling bull elk echoing across the mountains are now a part of the fabric of that future cultural heritage.
The story you rarely hear is that these elk and this habitat, symbols of a “New Savannah,” would not exist without surface mining. This treasure is a sustainable resource.
So, the next time you turn on the lights, think of the wildlife habitat made possible by the extraction of the coal that produced the electricity. Think of the elk.
NOTE: You can watch a video about Elk in Kentucky by following the link to the Kentucky Coal Association website
below:
LINK:
Elk in KY Video
