Changing Habitats!
When looking at habitat changes, one of the first aspects to look at is erosion brought about by the initial land disturbances. Studies have shown that the erosion rate of one acre of a strip mine is equivalent to five acres of timbered forestland or ten acres of farmland. Another study of a partially stripped watershed showed an erosion rate of 5.9 tons/acre per year. Juxtapose that with the typical 0.7 tons/acre per year in an unimpacted watershed. A study conducted in the late 1960s showed that in the Bolt Mountain area of Raleigh County, WV, 97% of the erosion in the watershed was attributed to areas that were strip mined, even though these strip-mined areas covered only 6.4 percent of the entire watershed.
Even with these startling statistics, mountaintop removal mining permits have steadily increased in size over the past decade or so. In fact, the granting of one permit could currently transform thousands of acres of hardwood forests into grasslands. In addition, in the permitting process, the WV DEP acts like it has blinders on, that is to say they only look at the proposed area to be impacted, not the surrounding areas, so it is quite common to find many back to back permits leading to a continuous MTR operation covering several thousand acres. With this increase in contiguously permitted sites, the erosion rates in these watersheds will certainly increase. Since soil is one of the most precious resources in southern West Virginia, the MTR permitting process certainly merits closer, more comprehensive scrutiny by state regulatory agencies.
Along with the increased erosion and the subsequent changes in stream ecosystems downstream of MTR operations, the negative impacts are exacerbated by high concentrations of heavy metals and minerals that allow only the most pollutant-tolerant fish and insect species to exist in them. In many man-made streams on and below MTR sites, agricultural fertilizer is added to the stream channel in an effort to simulate a healthy stream system. However, this only leads to eutrophication that causes, among other things, the clogging of these streams with plant growth. In areas below these artificial streams, gone are the native, ecologically sensitive invertebrate species that have adapted to these streams over countless millennia. Also gone from these altered streams is the Brook Trout, the state fish of West Virginia.
Aside from the multiple changes in water quality and the species that live therein, MTR also transforms mixed hardwood forest habitats into those more commonly found in the mid-western US. This transformation causes the eradication of many native woodland species. This is where the term forest fragmentation comes into play. Whereas large undisturbed forests are contiguous, when they are broken up by disturbances, the forest becomes fragmented. When more and more of these disturbances occur in a given area, the forest ceases to be contiguous, and becomes more of a checkerboard of woodlands interspersed with disturbed areas. In short, MTR operations increase forest fragmentation. To cope with the changes, many woodland species that require contiguous forests for survival are either annihilated or forced to relocate. As more and more of the landscape becomes altered by MTR, the remote possibility that these native species can relocate is further reduced. After all, to where would these species move? Nearly every area of the region has been impacted by some effect of MTR.
Many native woodland species are replaced with non-native species; species that didn’t originate in these habitats but find they can thrive in these newly created habitats. Many non-native species are considered nuisance species, and many of them prey on the remaining native species that have somehow managed to maintain populations in these areas. Looking at the above picture of the widespread MTR operations in Logan County, it gives you a sense of the widespread forest fragmentation, a primary factor in the loss of native species diversity.
However, it should be noted that not all species that inhabit reclaimed sites are non-native. There are a few instances of native, habitat-generalist species that have experienced population growth in areas with MTR operations. White-tailed deer for one, can readily adapt to a number of habitats. However, the nutrient-poor vegetation that does grow on these reclaimed sites typically causes these deer to be of inferior quality and of inferior health. Also important in this scenario, is the greatly reduced mast trees on which whitetails rely on as a primary food source throughout the winter months. What does this mean for hunters…well, don’t expect finding a trophy buck in these areas! Even though historically, the southern WV counties have produced the majority portion of trophy bucks for the region, the loss of habitat/food resources due to MTR may have relegated this accomplishment to the past.
With the recent human safety and wildlife health concerns of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in White-Tailed Deer, one can imagine it is only a matter of time before this epizootic inflicts the marginally healthy population of whitetails on/around reclaimed MTR sites. CWD is already a problem in the overpopulated deer herds of the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, so it is already here in the state. It is not a stretch to believe that CWD could easily find its way to the southern coalfields, especially with the increasingly poor health of the deer populations now located there.
In addition to the white-tailed deer, some small mammal populations also thrive on reclaimed MTR sites; however, they tend to be of the Peromyscus family, which is commonly known as the deer mouse family. A study looking at tree regrowth on reclaimed strip mined area’s noted that the success of hardwoods on stripped land was reduced due to substantial damage inflicted by these increased rodent populations. With these increased populations of rodent species and the poor quality (and highly compacted) soils on reclaimed MTR sites, you can sense my disbelief in the coal industry propaganda that reclaimed MTR sites will again see mature forest habitats in “just a few years”.
Also, with the increased populations of rodent species on reclaimed MTR sites, one can logically assume there would be a subsequent increase in vector borne diseases in the area’s surrounding these sites. In recent years, it has become known that members of the Peromyscus family are carriers of the hantavirus in the western U.S. Does this sound like a group of species that we, as a state, should be “welcoming” by creating a more suitable habitat? Even though this scenario has the potential to negatively impact human health, few studies have been conducted on these impacts so we are left to wonder what the repercussions will be. I am aware of only one study that was conducted in this area of study but as far as I know, the results were never released to the public. Looking at the above photo of Mingo County and the MTR operations there, it certainly gives reason for concern about the spread of disease caused by increased rodent populations.
With the greater rodent populations, the southern coalfields have experienced a population explosion of coyotes, especially since the rapid expansion of MTR. This can be directly attributed to the coyote exploiting this readily available and increasingly abundant food source. However, coyotes don’t just eat these vast populations of mice, they also target many forms of livestock, including poultry, sheep, goats, as well as the occasional family pet. The growing populations of coyotes have the potential to negatively impact the already struggling agricultural industry of southern WV.
Many native small mammal species, even if they are somehow able to adapt to the changing habitat conditions are hit with a double whammy when you look at the role of fluctuating temperatures on reclaimed MTR sites. In the native hardwood forests, the tree canopy, leaf litter and vegetative undergrowth all work in conjunction to buffer temperature variations. When this mature forest is removed during MTR, also gone is the temperature buffer, leaving these “reclaimed” sites with severe temperature fluctuations that make the land uninhabitable by all but a few species. In short, even if some species were able to adapt to the drastically altered habitat, they would still have to overcome the temperature fluctuations.
Addressed here are but a few examples of the changing habitats of the southern West Virginia coalfields that are a result of mountaintop removal coal mining. There are multiple facets of this issue, and all of these facets are connected. The above examples should be put into the context of the overall environmental impacts of MTR to adequately understand the issue. These examples are only meant to illustrate a few of the more blatant changes in the species composition of the southern West Virginia coalfields, this argument is not intended to contain an exhaustive list of changes wrought upon the land by MTR.
For more information, read “Bringing Down the Mountains: The Impacts of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining on Southern West Virginia Communities” by Dr. Shirley Stewart Burns. You can find out more information about Dr. Burns book at:
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