The Kentucky Department for Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) held an Arbor Day celebration on May 8, 2007 at Lexington Coal Company's 17 West Mining Complex in Martin County, Kentucky.
Students from Inez Middle School and Warfield Middle School planted nearly 300 oak and American Chestnut seedlings with the help of the Kentucky Division of Forestry. The students enthusiastically embraced the idea of reforestation and could easily have planted more.
The event was sponsored by Mr. Dan Geiger, President of Lexington Coal Company, LLC. Additional speakers included Dr. Don Graves and Dr. Richard Warner of the University of Kentucky; Paul Rothman, Director of DNR Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement; Mike French, Vice-President of the Kentucky Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation; William Kovacic, Director of OSM's Lexington field office; and Susan Bush, Commissioner of DNR.
Dr. Graves received recognition for his research in reforestation as a viable post mining land use option for the reclamation of mined lands. Dr. Graves and Mr. Rothman were instrumental in the establishment of the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI), which advocates reforestation as the preferred reclamation land use option.
Dan Geiger, President of Lexington Coal Company, LLC (left) and Paul Rothman, Director of Mine Reclamation & Enforcement
Dr. Don Graves, University of Kentucky
