Today we went to Joe Knob. Joe Knob is a strip mine that is being reclaimed. While we were at Joe Knob the weather would not cooperate. It rained the whole time we were there and then the lightning came but we still were able to see many things.
The water from the mine sites are caught in ponds and are tested. They add sodium hydroxide to the water to get the ph up. Last year when we tested the water the ph in the pond we tested was 7. Our guide told us that there were 2 trout streams at the bottom of Joe Knob. One is self sustainable while the other has to be monitored and treated to allow the trout to stay alive.
They are also trying to reclaim the land by using hydroseed. Hydroseed is made up of seeds tht are aggresive growers that can grow in rocky acidic soil. The seeds are not native plants but they are green. There is not much diversity in the plants as we had seen in the natural reclamation but this reclamation takes less time.
Next we went to Nuttelburg a mine site next to the New River in Fayetteville. This is the site of another naturally reclaimed mine site. Once again there was diversity in the plant life. When we measured the water we got a high normal water quality from a stream coming out of the hill. We could not get to the tipple or coke ovens because of work being done in the area.
Finally we went to see the longest steel arch bridge;
The New River Gorge Bridge.
David, I always love your blogs! Thanks for taking the extra time to post good work!
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