Reclaiming Iowa's abandoned coal mine lands

A century ago, southern Iowa was home to hundreds of surface coal mines. As the coal boom died so did the companies that mined for it, leaving those mines abandoned and open to the elements. Today, decades after the industry died, efforts slowly continue to clean up the deserted mines and reclaim the ground that was once rich with coal.
Original broadcast date: May 31, 2017
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Iowa Outdoors is a series produced by Iowa Public Television in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources that highlights outdoor recreation, environmental issues, conservation initiatives, and Iowa's outdoor natural resources.

[@felipericketts]

Undoing the harm from another era and bringing the land back to health! What you are doing is awesome! 🙂

[@HermitagePrepper]

Filling in the holes you dug just makes sense. Re-use the land! Let it re-green!

[@zfilmmaker]

The best way to reclaim land like this is with cover crops that meet the needs of soil tests. Grow them, till them under, grow more, till them and so on. It’s important to spread required lime amounts over a couple years for best absorption. Don’t spread a high amount all at once. It’s better to build soil nutrients before grazing any cattle. It can be done in 1.5 years with amazing results. I’ve done it several times.

[@futtermanfarms6791]

I think you are partly right. Cover crops, Yes! Till them in? NO!! Do a cover crop of multi species with lots of natives in the mix. Start light rotational grazing with one day on any plot and 6 to 12 months recovery time before the next grazing. Do not hay it. The only harvest for a few years would be livestock. Livestock grazing is important part of rebuilding the soil biology. So is multi species, like at least 15 in the mix, more is better. Also vary the mix for rolling hill tops or little drainage valleys. Again plant natives that will invite native wildlife including insect and tiny life. Fantastic job on reshaping the land and clean up!!!!!!!!! Beautiful

[@zfilmmaker]

@@futtermanfarms6791 it’s important to get the nutrients into the ground if you don’t, at least disc the surface. I’ve done all the forage crops for nitrogen fixation and the results are little to none on very poor soil. When reclaiming areas of dense wood brush like cedar, invasive olives, mesquite, sage brush and weeds…these are signs of highly acidic poor soils. Cattle grazing is not the answer immediately, it’s a step further down the road. What these soils need are green matter turned over and buried to decompose to build back soil biodiversity. You can’t get that from cattle.

[@tobiadisa2050]

Would this technique work for a vast area that has soil excavated UpTo 3/4 feet..? Or what would be the solution for that?

[@zfilmmaker]

@@tobiadisa2050 Do you have a decent depth of top soil or is it all clay?

[@Ivan.A.Churlyuski]

I get the clean outs after harvest from the local mills who usually pay for a place to dump it, they deliver it to my abandoned mine and I spread it around with my tractor, I’ve been doing it for about 15 years and have about two feet of organic material that is sticking on top of the rock. I’m nervous to ask my state for tips, they’ll probably fine me.

[@Bham67]

I wish they would have explained how they fix the huge reservoir lakes of coal slur.

[@dwightrucker3299]

I would create a large compost pile. Get with an orange juice company take all the peelings let it compost then spread it around.

[@classyaj5404]

I've done research on Buxton Iowa your Welcome to watch

[@chestoabuckslayer1379]

I love IOWA

[@hagencarter8834]

I hope they get funding again

[@johnblecker4206]

The coal companies did a number to much of Pa. they took the coal and left so many huge holes but things were good during coal mine time except for mine deaths.

[@HermitagePrepper]

Seems logical to me that if you dig a hole, you should fill it back up and let it regreen. We can use mother natures gifts without destroying her

[@southernillinoisoutdoors8206]

By the way it still does fuel the state and nation

[@triple6758]

Leave some unreclaimed. Use for recreational vehicles. Perfect symbiosis.

[@JamesMcCutcheon]

Someone got the money; now who pays for the restoration? Tax payers?

[@epistte]

This is now the burden of the taxpayers.

[@Uri18]

Theoretically, the government got money from the mining operations and that money helped provide goods and services for all tax payers. Now that is what's supposed to happen. Now days the mining company they are supposed to restore the site whrn they are done. USA and Canadian companies usually only plant a couple hundred trees and call a site restored. I recently visited a USG abandoned mine in northern México... they don't really care about what happens once they are done.

[@triple6758]

@@epistte One of the smallest of our 'burdens'. How much tax per household was added by ukraine's 40 billion?

[@chopperdoodle1]

Open the mine CREATING JOBS.

[@IowaOutdoors]

These were surface mines. There is nothing left to open up.

[@winterszhuzhupets2]

@@IowaOutdoors will the farmer ever be able to plant corn on the reclaimed land.