Elk introduced in former surface mined land in Central Appalachia to help restore ecosystems and local economies - Entrepreneur Generations

When a company has stripped all the coal from a surface mine, it's legally required to do some restoration. That usually means covering the area with topsoil and seeding it with grass and shrubs to keep the new dirt from sliding away. "Central Appalachian communities are burdened with more than a million acres of these flattened mountains, many of which have been restored on the cheap," Mason Adams reports for Yes! "Faced with the quandary of what to do with these problematic lands, several states have used them as reintroduction sites for elk in hopes of enriching the habitat for diverse animal species. And the hopes that follow involve some economic revival in coal country from tourist dollars spent by wildlife watchers and, eventually, hunters.

from The Rural Blog http://bit.ly/2LgW3b5 Elk introduced in former surface mined land in Central Appalachia to help restore ecosystems and local economies - Entrepreneur Generations

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