|
Click on photo to view larger image
|
In celebration of Arbor Day 2010, the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Bureau of Mines hosted a tree planting event at a previously mined 4-acre site near Frostburg. The event showed the value of proper soil preparation and promoted the reforestation of non-productive mine land with high-value hardwood trees native to the Appalachian forest.
Prior to the planting, the compact nature of the site’s soil did not make for a hospitable tree planting environment. As a result, the site was grassland with very few trees. To reduce the compaction of the soil, the site was ripped with a blade attached to the back of a dozer, reducing grass competition and allowing more water saturation and greater root penetration.
Approximately 60 high school students in environmental classes from Mountain Ridge High School and the Allegany Career and Technical Center -- along with volunteers from the Department of Juvenile Services Meadow Mountain Youth Camp, George’s Creek Watershed Association, Maryland Land Reclamation Committee, and the federal Office of Surface Mining -- participated in the planting event. The volunteers planted nearly 2,000 oak, maple, cherry, and walnut trees. Additionally, American chestnut trees were planted as part of a larger program to reestablish the former giant hardwood to the Appalachian region.
Click here for more information about MDE’s Mining Program.
|
