How to Restore a Million Acres of Strip-Mined Land? Bring in the Elk


Strip mining, a method in which the entire top few hundred feet of mountain are blown up to expose coal seams, has left Virginia and other Appalachian states with nearly a million acres of flat, problematic lands. Environmental scientists have released a herd of elk at one of these former strip mine sites to enrich the habitat for diverse animal species and to revitalize the local economies through wildlife tourists and hunters.

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