Ohio family restores 60 acres of abandoned mine land with native trees

In a small rural corner of Jackson County, Ohio, where the hills still bear the scars of coal mining, one family chose to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary this year not with fireworks or parades, but with shovels, seedlings and a promise to heal the land. Their 60-acre property, a former Abandoned Mine Land (AML) site for more than two decades, had long been a visible reminder of the region’s industrial past. Now, it is becoming part of a new story; one of forests, wildlife and growth, according to U.S. Department of the Interior- Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.A vision born during the pandemicThe landowners first contacted foresters from the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) in 2021, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was changing how people looked at their homes and backyards. Like many families spending more time on their land, they began to see the potential for something better. They asked if the land could be reclaimed and replanted with native trees to support wildlife and bring the ecosystem back.Because the site clearly involved AML mining impacts, the landowners were referred to the state partner, the Ohio Abandoned Mine Lan...