Exploring the Vital Ecosystem of Appalachia

1. Natural Resources & Environment of Appalachia Introducing Appalachian Studies

2. Age/Formation • The Appalachian Mountain range is roughly 480 million years old • Once rivaled peaks of Alps and Rockies, but they are smaller now due to erosion

3. Appalachian Mountain Topography • Four Principal Areas: • Blue Ridge • Great Smoky Mountains • Black Mountains (Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountains is the highest point in the Appalachians) • Cumberland Mountains and plateau - Big Stone Gap is located here

4. Rivers • Most important single resource • Functions of rivers: • Source of drinking water • Transportation • Fish and game • Tourist attractions • Valleys formed by rivers good for agriculture • Impact of industrialization on rivers • Stripping of trees has caused buildup of silt on river bottoms-->leads to flooding • Release of chemicals has made fish unfit for consumption in certain areas • Few natural lakes (glaciers of last ice age didn't affect much of Appalachia); many human-made lakes (TVA) • Interestingly enough, Virginia has only two natural lakes, one of which is in the Appalachian Mountains (Mountain Lake of Giles County)

5. Biodiversity • The Appalachians are one of the most diverse biological regions of North America • 690 vertebrate species and 2,245 higher plant species native to region • Trees found here are similar to trees found 50 million years ago • Sixty vertebrate species and 83 plant species threatened or endangered • Greatest threats: logging, mining, air pollution • Variety of game: • Bears, deer, squirrel, rabbit, wild turkey, ruffled grouse, fox, raccoon, etc. • Reintroductions: beaver, wolves, elk, bald eagle • Largely gone: mountain lion, golden eagle, bison

6. Forests • 80-90% forested when Europeans began to settle • Similar to present-day forests with exception of American chestnut, which was destroyed by blight • Upper elevations: spruce and intermingled fir • Middle elevations: tulip poplar, red and white oak, ash, and maple • Southern: varieties of pine • By 1900, 75% still wooded • Water originally delivered timber to destination before railroads were contructed • Development of bandsaws leads to timber boom after 1890; selective cutting replaced by clear-cutting • Timber practices lead to watershed loss, soil erosion, greater potential for fire (aided by steam engines)

7. Forests • Weeks Law of 1911: authorized purchase of private "forested, cut-over, or denuded lands within the watersheds of navigable streams" • Clark-McNary Act of 1924: more funds for land acquisition • By end of 1930s: National forests: Chattahoochee, Sumter, Nantahala, Pisgah, Cherokee, Jefferson, Washington, Daniel Boone, Monongahela, Allegheny and National Parks: Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah • Future of timber: • Giant timber companies moving East due to overharvesting in West • Chip mill construction (leads to clear-cutting)

8. Minerals • Variety: copper, aluminum, gold, coal • Two types of coal: anthracite (western PA) is a very hard coal with high carbon content and bituminous (WV, KY, VA, TN, AL) is softer and easier to ignite • Broad form deed: separation of surface and mineral rights, which leads to negative circumstances with landowners as strip mining is developed • Peak years for coal mining employment: 1941-1945 • In 1944, coal miners worked 1.078 billions hours for 685 million tons of coal • In 1979, miners worked 393 million hours for 741 million tons

9. Mechanization • Coal mining's early years: pick, shovel, and blasting powder • Technological developments • Mechanical loader: coal pulled onto belt • Continuous miner: cuts coal from seam • Longwall: like giant circular saw • New methods create more dust • Black lung • Explosions • Acid mine drainage from low-grade iron ore oxidizing and producing sulfuric acid • Mine water blow outs and flash-flooding • Surface changes due to structural issues • 1977: Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act • Five-year bond to transform land to "higher and better use" • Non-native species and few of them often used to reclaim lands previously used

10. Mechanization • Soil compaction • Mountaintop removal • Coal refuse • Dry, can ignite and burn for years • Wet, can form sludge: October of 2001, Massey Coal Company released 2.5 million gallons of coal sludge into Big Sandy River

11. Agriculture • Agriculture dominated region prior to timber and coal • Tobacco, sorghum molasses, Christmas tree farms, gardens • Appalachian Sustainable Development in Abingdon, VA

12. Development • Some areas experiencing population loss, others experiencing rapid growth • Vacation homes have become a hot-button issue in many areas • How to control development? • Prisons as economic development