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April 18, 2008 | Chestnut seeds to be planted at AECI's former Prairie Hill Mine on Earth DayContact : Nancy Southworth Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI) will recognize Earth Day, April 22, by participating in a federal project to restore chestnut trees in the Midwest. AECI will plant 21 chestnut tree seeds at its former Prairie Hill Mine near Thomas Hill Energy Center. The wholesale power cooperative already has been nationally recognized for restoring thousands of acres of land mined by a previous owner at the Bee Veer Mine near Macon, Mo. Last year the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining presented AECI with a national Excellence in Surface Mining and Reclamation Award. AECI also received the 2007 Kenes C. Bowling National Mine Reclamation Award from the Interstate Mining Compact Commission last year. Both awards recognized AECI for innovative practices and careful planning that transformed about 1,000 acres in the Bee Veer Mine to a mix of productive pasture, wetlands and woodlands. Now, AECI is cooperating with OSM and the Missouri Land Reclamation Program, part of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, to plant the chestnut seeds. According to Mike Giovanini, AECI’s revegetation supervisor, OSM’s reclamation policies in the past allowed operators to reclaim mined land to pasture, wildlife habitat or woodland. In most cases, this would result in land being reclaimed to pasture because it was the least costly of the three alternatives. But with the reduction of tree cover in other parts of the country, such as the Appalachians, and the recognition that trees were beneficial for the removal of carbon dioxide from the air, OSM is now promoting tree planting on reclaimed land. One of the agency’s programs involves the reintroduction of the American chestnut tree to the Midwest, and seeds have been provided to AECI as an experiment to see how well they will grow in north Missouri. American chestnuts once blanketed forests in the eastern United States but have been largely decimated by a fungal blight. It has been said that if you could custom design the ideal tree species, you couldn't come up with a better one than the American chestnut. It was a huge, majestic tree, with a very straight stem. The wood was nearly ideal. As George Hepting, a well-known scientist in forest pathology, once wrote, “Not only was baby's crib likely made of chestnut, but chances were, so was the old man's coffin.” The tree made up about 50 percent of most eastern hardwood forests. It grew fast, and would regenerate itself by root sprouts vigorously. The nuts were edible by wildlife and humans. AECI plans to plant these seeds primarily on south- and north-facing slopes on the 9,000 acres of reclaimed mine land in areas already established with other tree varieties. In addition to planting the chestnut seeds, OSM is conducting a study of how well trees grow on reclaimed mined land versus undisturbed land. Part of that study will include measuring trees planted by AECI dating back to 1983. Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. is owned by and provides wholesale power to six regional and 51 local electric cooperative systems in Missouri, southeast Iowa and northeast Oklahoma that serve more than 850,000 customers. AECI’s mission is to provide an economical and reliable power supply and support services to its members. AECI is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V Released: 18 April 2008 |
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