The Wetlands at UVa-Wise

Transforming an Environmental Liability into a Community Asset

History of The Wetlands Project

The Wetlands Project began as an effort to remediate the impacts of AMD on the UVa-Wise campus. In 2000, the Lonesome Pine Soil and Water Conservation District (LPSWCD) and the Guest River Group (GRG) set forth to identify and reduce the impacts of AMD in the Guest River watershed. The AMD-affected stream on the UVa-Wise campus was chosen as a unique environment for an AMD reclamation project. While AMD significantly impacted the health of the campus stream (and, therefore, the Guest and Clinch Rivers), ecological restoration was not the only objective.

From the beginning, all the individuals involved with the Wetlands Project saw an opportunity to transform an environmental liability into a learning environment by providing educational opportunities for the students and citizens of southwest Virginia. In 2001, the College officially joined the unique partnership of local citizens, landscape architects, environmental organizations and coalitions, and federal agencies to expand traditional views of land reclamation and AMD remediation practices.

A partner in The Wetlands Project, the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy  (DMME) initiated a site study to evaluate the scientific feasibility of the project. A grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) initially funded the project, helping to pay for a site assessment. These funds were limited, however, and DMME encouraged the LPSWCD to apply for an Office of Surface Mining (OSM) Clean Streams Initiative Grant. The grants use a combination of private and government resources to facilitate and coordinate citizen groups, university researchers, the coal industry, corporations, the environmental community, and local, state, and federal government agencies in reclaiming streams polluted by AMD. The LPSWCD was awarded a substantial grant, and Black Diamond Resource Conservation and Development Council served as the fiscal managers of the grant.

During the same time period, Dr. Allan Comp was developing AMD&ART, a program that blended site history with reclamation science and innovative landscape design, along with the energy of community engagement. Hearing about the success of the first AMD&ART reclamation project in Vintondale, Pennsylvania, the LPSWCD contacted Dr. Comp for insight on how the UVa-Wise Wetlands Project could further incorporate the community in the development of the site.

Having secured the OSM Clean Streams Grant, the LPSWCD and the GRG began developing a Wetlands Project stakeholders group. A series of public meetings were conducted with UVa-Wise faculty to determine the needs of the College and the Wise community. In addition to simply enhancing the ecological health of the site, the group suggested an interpretive trail that would lead citizens through the reclaimed wetland. Following these meetings, the group decided that a concept drawing was needed to help visually understand what could be built. Rhode Island School of Design student Corey Kissel began working with LPSWCD, Maxim Engineering, and UVa-Wise faculty to develop the first concept drawing of the site. With the initial concept design in hand, the Powell River Project completed an inclusive watershed restoration design and implemented several small engineering measures that would support the construction of a passive AMD remediation system.

(First concept drawing by Corey Kissel)

In the spring of 2003, the LPSWCD hired landscape architect Kathy Poole to integrate the ideas developed in the concept plan with detailed design aspects that invited people into the reclaimed landscape. As the construction date was approaching, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) joined the partnership, donating construction services through their Wetlands Mitigation program. With VDOT support and funding from VDCR, OSM, and a Virginia Department of Forestry Grant, construction began in the summer of 2004 and was completed in November of that same year. Ongoing site improvement, general maintenance, and the construction of an educational outreach program have occurred in the years since that time.

(Design by Kathy Poole)

(Construction of the Wetlands beginning behind Martha Randolph Hall)

As the water quality improves and the ecological system continues to mature, The Wetlands has become a resource for students, teachers, and citizens of southwest Virginia. Partnerships continue to develop along with the wetland ecosystem, and people visiting The Wetlands are able to see what an environmental liability can become with a little support and a lot of hard work.

OSM/VISTA Partnership

The Wetlands has greatly benefited from a unique partnership between Americorps VISTA and the Office of Surface Mining. Three OSM/VISTA volunteers, serving through the Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team (ACCWT), have been integral to building the capacity of UVa-Wise and the surrounding community. The ACCWT is a coalition of change-minded grassroots-level watershed improvement groups determined to repair the environmental degradation left from historic coal mining while creating economic stability needed in our rural communities. With its Support Office in Beckley, WV, the ACCWT works throughout an eight state Appalachian region (PA, OH, MD, VA, WV, KY, TN, AL) with unified goals to: build local capacity, monitor water quality, enhance outreach and education, engage redevelopment and require professional development. The Team is supported by an innovative partnership between AmeriCorps VISTA and the Office of Surface Mining. The ACCWT began in 2002 as an OSM/VISTA initiative, placing determined college-trained OSM/VISTA Volunteers in a year of service in rural mining communities.

The OSM/VISTA position at UVa-Wise was geared toward site development, education, and outreach within the College and with the greater Wise community. Highlights from the OSM/VISTA terms include:

• Facilitating the replacement of eight cement half culvert pipes with limestone rip-rap, which included a donation of service from the Virginia Department of Transportation worth $5,000
• Placement of informational kiosk marking the trail entrance, including signs describing the history and ecology of the site
• Integrating The Wetlands into the curriculum of UVa Wise by partnering with professors in the Natural Sciences Department, reaching both students in classes for science majors and non-majors
• Presentations emphasizing rural water quality and alternatives to reclamation at local, regional, and national conferences including the national Action in Place conference (Goddard College, October 2005), Society of Wetlands Scientists annual meeting (Madison, WI, June 2009)
• Organizing internships for local college students to gain experience with water monitoring, fundraising, and trail building
• Partnering with local community groups, government agencies, and schools to educate Wise County residents about water quality, run-off and pollution, habitat conservation, and AMD
• Supporting community groups and government agencies in creating or managing water monitoring programs, including gathering data about wastewater treatment and organizing monitoring trainings
• Holding educational events at The Wetlands for local school kids
• Developing lessons and field trips for local schools to use in teaching environmental education at The Wetlands and in classrooms
• Recruiting student groups to take ownership of cleaning and maintaining the site and to help with educational events

(OSM/VISTA volunteers Abby Stangl, Ray Mullins, and Allyson Green)