Preservation of Selected Unreclaimed Strip-Mined Lands in Ohio

Abstract

Some of the unreclaimed strip-mined lands in Ohio and similar areas of Appalachia constitute a valuable resource for educational, research and recreational purposes. Preservation of natural resources has focused on unique biological and geological resources of the state for inclusion in scenic, interpretive, or scientific preserves. Some of the unreclaimed strip-mined areas constitute unique scenic, scientific, and interpretive resources that could be incorporated into a preserve system, which could be expanded to permit numerous types of recreation suitable for unreclaimed areas. Criteria should be developed for the preservation of some of these unreclaimed areas before the most unique relicts of the Pre-Environmental Age are lost to the numerous reclamation programs now available.