User:SandersJR/sandbox

Copy/Paste of Mountaintop Removal Mining- Reclamation for editing:

Reclamation
Established in 1977, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act set up a program “for the regulation of surface mining activities and the reclamation of coal-mined lands”. Although U.S. mountaintop removal sites by law must be reclaimed after mining is complete, reclamation has traditionally focused on stabilizing rock formations and controlling for erosion, and not on the reforestation of the affected area. However, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 list "the restoration of land and water resources" as a priority. Fast-growing, non-native flora such as Lespedeza cuneata, planted to quickly provide vegetation on a site, compete with tree seedlings, and trees have difficulty establishing root systems in compacted backfill.

Consequently, biodiversity suffers in a region of the United States with numerous endemic species. In addition, reintroduced elk (Cervus canadensis) on mountaintop removal sites in Kentucky are eating tree seedlings.