Land reborn

Following the enactment of a state severance tax on surface-mined coal production, the state was inventoried to determine the extent of unreclaimed mined land and acid mine drainage. Tax revenues were to be used for reclamation. This analysis looked at a typical mining-damaged area (Conotton Creek, Stark County) and applied the new (in 1974) concept of land capability analysis to provide a template of how such areas could be evaluated and restored to productive use.