Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Response of wildlife to surface mining and reclamation in southwest Virginia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Surface mining of coal in the Appalachians dramatically alters natural landscapes and ecosystems, with impacts on the wildlife that inhabit these systems. Under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, mining companies are required to reclaim the impacted land and restore it to an “equal or better” land use than the pre-mined conditions. I here report the results of four years of field work on restored mined lands in southwestern Virginia to evaluate the effects of surface mining on wildlife, and their response to reclamation efforts. The loss of mature forest that occurs with mining has a substantial impact on wildlife reliant on these habitats. Reclamation efforts result in early successional habitats that typically will develop into mature forests more slowly than natural succession on undisturbed landscapes. We found that salamanders were substantially impacted by mining, and populations are slow to recover on reclaimed lands. However, the reclaimed sites supported a robust community of diverse bird species, many of which are reliant on early successional habitats. Reclaimed lands may in fact contribute to helping sustain populations of several bird species that are declining regionally that are dependent on early successional habitats. I will discuss the negative and positive impacts of reclamation efforts in the context of the larger landscape of Appalachian forests.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Dean Stauffer is a Professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech. His primary research focus has been to analyze wildlife-habitat relationships and the evaluation of impacts of habitat change on the associate wildlife.
Additional Authors:
Christopher Latimer, Univeristy of Wisconsin
Amy Carrozino-Lyon
Response of wildlife to surface mining and reclamation in southwest Virginia
Surface mining of coal in the Appalachians dramatically alters natural landscapes and ecosystems, with impacts on the wildlife that inhabit these systems. Under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, mining companies are required to reclaim the impacted land and restore it to an “equal or better” land use than the pre-mined conditions. I here report the results of four years of field work on restored mined lands in southwestern Virginia to evaluate the effects of surface mining on wildlife, and their response to reclamation efforts. The loss of mature forest that occurs with mining has a substantial impact on wildlife reliant on these habitats. Reclamation efforts result in early successional habitats that typically will develop into mature forests more slowly than natural succession on undisturbed landscapes. We found that salamanders were substantially impacted by mining, and populations are slow to recover on reclaimed lands. However, the reclaimed sites supported a robust community of diverse bird species, many of which are reliant on early successional habitats. Reclaimed lands may in fact contribute to helping sustain populations of several bird species that are declining regionally that are dependent on early successional habitats. I will discuss the negative and positive impacts of reclamation efforts in the context of the larger landscape of Appalachian forests.
