1Photo by Vivian Stockman-ohvec.org

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Background Information

• Mountaintop removal coal mining is a surface mining practice involving the removal of mountaintops to expose coal seams. –EPA definition

• Mountaintop removal mining techniques appeared in West Virginia and surrounding coal fields around the WW2 era.

• The alternative to mountaintop removal mining is deep mining.

A Biodiverse Region

• Much of southern Appalachia’s biodiversity is a result of its geography

• Salamanders and Fungi reach their greatest diversity in southern Appalachia

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• The Southern Appalachian Mountains “are a global biodiversity hotspot”- George Wuerthner, Plundering Appalachia

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The Mountaintop removal process covers all three of the H’s of conservation biology.

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1.) Habitat Fragmentation- A road must be created to the strip site.

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2.) Habitat Degradation- Entire forest of the area to be mined is cut.

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3.) Habitat Destruction- Area is mined and mountain destroyed