Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI)

Background

The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) was formed in 2004 and is a cooperative effort by the States of the Appalachian Region with the Office of Surface Mining to encourage restoration of high quality forests on reclaimed coal mines in the eastern USA. ARRI's goals are to communicate and encourage mine reforestation practices that:

• plant more high-value hardwood trees on reclaimed coal mined lands in Appalachia;
• increase the survival rates and growth rates of planted trees; and
• expedite the establishment of forest habitat through natural succession

ARRI’s collaborative efforts include over 300 partners, like: the ACCWT, watershed and environmental groups, industry, State and Federal government, coal field communities, landowners, and private citizens to enlist their efforts and support. For more information about ARRI, please visit: http://arri.osmre.gov.

ARRI's  partnership with the Appalachian Coal County Watershed Team (ACCWT) began in the spring of 2009. ARRI and ACCWT created eight very successful tree planting events.  ARRI provided the science of mined land reforestation and ACCWT provided the volunteers and public engagement in 8 coal field communities (2 in Kentucky, 2 in Virginia, 2 in West Virginia, 1 in  Ohio, and 1 in Pennsylvania). The OSM/VISTA's placement with ARRI will encourage a doubling (and hopefully tripling!) of these tree planting projects for the spring of 2010.

 

Goals and Accomplishments:

This section includes any recent activities that the OSM/VISTA has undertaken with his or her watershed. It can be a written in paragraph form or simply bulleted under the four headings: Project Development and Implementation; Community Outreach and Education; Capacity Building/Grant Writing; and Community Revitalization.

 

Project Development and Implementation

• Possibilities of expanding the Cerulean Warbler Pen Pal Program
• Professional Conference Presentation scheduled strengthening the ARRI/ACCWT partnership

 

Community Outreach and Education

• Editing/Rewriting outreach materials (flyers, FAQs, informational booklets, etc.)
• Helping to coordinate a tree planting in a nearby county

 

Capacity Building/Grant Writing

• Researching various grants for tree plantings and Pen Pal Program
• Providing materials and information to other organizations looking for grants

 

Community Revitalization

• Acting as a liaison between ARRI and OSM/VISTA's watershed groups regarding tree planting projects which will lead to better habitats, cleaner water, etc. for their communities.

 

Partners and Contributors:

ASMR
Indiana Univ of PA
AFHA
LifeBridge
Oakbrook Stewards of Creation
Oakbrook Church
Cub Scouts
Columbiana County Park Commission
Huntington Insurance
Carcassonne Community Center
Headwaters, Inc.
Letcher Co. Central High School
Letcher Co. Public Schools
OSM-LAO
TACF
The Baum Foundation
The Mountain Eagle
ACCWT
Citizens Conservation Core of WV [CCCWV]
New River Gorge NR
NPS
PAN
Patriot Coal
Patriot Coal Company
Patriot Coal Corp
Raft Guide
Berea College
Blessed Earth
Coal Mining Future, Inc.
Heartwood
Letcher Co. Sheriff Office
Monkey Wrench Gang
Maddox Garage Builders
James River Coal Co.
IUP
Clintwood High School
Ervinton High School
Haysi High School
Schuykill Conservation District
Booth Energy
Trust for Wildlife
AMERC
AMERC/Columbia Theological Society
Carmelite Friars
Columbia Theological Society
St. John's UMC
Sierra Club Cumberland Chapter
KY Resources Council
American Greenlands Restoration, Inc.
Ruffed Grouse Society
UN, Energy and Transport Branch
UNESCO
WR Hydrosolutions, LLC
Coal Creek Watershed Foundation, Inc.
VA DMME-DMLR
Friends of the Russell Fork
Guest River Group
KY Geological Survey
Plateau Action Network
Rockcastle County Solid Waste Mgmt Office
Upper Cumberland Watershed
Upper Guyandotte Watershed Assoc.
VA Dept of Game & Inland Fisheries
US Geological Survey
Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture
Equitable Production
Bujoru Viticulture Research Station
Nat'l Research & Devpmt Inst. Soil Science & Envir
Research & Development Institute for Bovine
United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP]
Univ of Agricultur Sciences & Vet Medicine [USAMV]
Design Two, Inc.
East Central Ohio Forestry Assoc. [ECOFA]
Landsgreen, LLC
Meadwestvaco
WV Dept. Environmental Protection [WVDEP]
WVDEP Division Water & Waste Management
US Department of the Interior [DOI]
Primal Nature
Barnesville Area Reforestation Kommittee [BARK]
Belmont Soil and Water Conservation District
ODNR Division of Forestry
ODNR Division of Mineral Resources Management
Susuehanna River Basin Commission
Westmoreland Conservation District
Beran Environmental Services, Inc.
Quality Aggregates, Inc.
BioMost, Inc
Stream Restoration Inc.
International Coal Group - ICG Corporate
International Coal Group - ICG Knott County
International Coal Group - ICG East Kentucky
International Coal Group - ICG Flint Ridge
International Coal Group - ICG Hazard
Kentucky Environmental & Public Protection Cabinet
American Bird Conservancy [ABC]
Lexington Coal Co., LLC
Maryland Department of Environment [MDE]
Clum Forestry Consultants
Glatfelter
Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District [MWCD]
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency [TWRA]
Cerulean Warbler Technical Group
Engineering Consulting Services, Inc. [ECSI]
US DOE National Energy Technology Lab [NETL]
US DOI Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS]
USDA Forest Service
American Electric Power [AEP-Ohio]
Anthony Mining Co. Inc.
Bari, Goodie and Associates, Inc.
Environ Land Design
Greenbelt Advocates
Marietta Coal Company
Redbud Company, Inc.
B & N Coal, Inc.
Cravat Coal Co.
Jack A. Hamilton & Assoc., Inc.
Ohio Department Natural Resources [ODNR]
TCCI Laboratories, Inc.
West Muskingum FRA Chapter
W-H & Associates
Amvest WV Coal Co. LLC
Kentucky Coal Association
International Coal Group, Inc. [ICG]
Maryland Department of Environment [MDE]
Apogee Coal Company
Magnum Coal Company
Office of Surface Mining [OSM] - Charleston
Ralph R. Willis Career & Technical Center
WV Dept. Environmental Protection [WVDEP]
Averitt Hardwood
Daniel Boone National Forest
Floyd County Fiscal Court
Gennett Forestry Consulting and Landscaping
Huber Engineered Woods
Kentucky Hardwood Lumber
Lloyd A. Foe Consulting Foresters, LLC
Pine Mountain Hardwood Lumber Co.
Professional Forestry Services, LLC.
Society of American Foresters [SAF]
Trus Joist
UK Department of Forestry
URS Corporation
USDA Forest Service
Wagner Forest Management
Weyerhaeuser
Pine Mountain Settlement School
Sierra Club
National Mining Association [NMA]
Pennsylvania Coal Association
Kentucky, State of
Audubon Pennsylvania
Council for Research and Reclamation of Disturbed
US DOE National Energy Technology Lab [NETL]
University of Tennessee [UT]
Purdue University
West Virginia University [WVU]
George's Creek Watershed Association [GCWA]
Horticultural Society of Western PA
Appalachian Fuels, LLC
Grandparent Coalition
Kentucky Department of Natural Resources [KDNR]
Kentucky Division of Forestry
Kingdom Come School
Premier Elkhorn Coal Co.
\The American Chestnut Foundation [TACF]
The American Chestnut Foundation [TACF-KY Chapter]
Big Sandy Soil & Water Conservation District
Daniel Boone Soil & Water Conservation District
Hands Across the Mountain
Lee County Board of Superintendents
Lee County Public Schools
McClure River Restoration Project
Paramont Mining/Dickenson-Russel Mining
Powell River Partnership
Powell River Project
Ruffed Grouse Society
Sigmon Coal Company, Inc.
The Nature Conservancy, Clinch Valley Program
Upper TN River Roundtable
USDA Forest Service, Clinch Ranger District
VA Dept of Mines, Minerals, & Energy [DMME]
Garrett County Soil Conservation District
Maryland Land Reclamation Committee [MLRC]
Office of Surface Mining [OSM] - Headquarters
Pennsylvania Mining Professionals
TDEC Water Pollution Control [WPC]
TNDA Division of Forestry
Frostburg State Univ., Dept of Geography
Maryland Bureau of Mines
Maryland Department of Natural Resources [MD DNR]
MD DNR - Forest Service
Office of Surface Mining [OSM] - Pittsburgh
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
EPCAMR
Pennsylvania DCNR Bureau of Forestry
Penn State University [PSU]
US DOI Fish and Wildlife Service - TN Field Office
Arch of West Virginia
Catenary Coal Mining Company
Gillespie Forestry Service
International Coal Group - ICG Eastern
Kentucky Department of Natural Resources [KDNR]
Kentucky State Legislature
Maryland Department of Environment [MDE]
NPS, Big South Fork- Natl River & Recreation Area
Office of Surface Mining [OSM] - Knoxville
Office of Surface Mining [OSM] -Appalachian Region
Ohio Department Natural Resources [ODNR]
Ohio State University [OSU]
PA Department of Enviromental Protection [PADEP]
Peabody Conservancy Group
Quail Unlimited - WV State Chapter
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation [RMEF]
Society of American Foresters [SAF-WV Chapter]
TECO Coal
The American Chestnut Foundation [TACF]
University of Kentucky [UK]
USDA Forest Service
UT Forestry, Wildlife, & Fisheries
VA Dept of Forestry
VA DMME Division of Mined Land Reclamation [DMLR]
Virginia Tech
Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
Williams Forestry & Assoc
WV Coal Association
WV Dept. Environmental Protection [WVDEP]
WV Division of Forestry
WVU National Research Center for Coal & Energy