ABSTRACT
An interesting point came up in a recent conversation with two students on the subject of this volume. I said that I wanted to identify what makes good reclamation. My students, who are brothers, had grown up in rural Kentucky, where strip mining had been extensive. They told me about an area near their home which had been abandoned after the stripping. This place was for them a wonderland, with little lakes and ponds that were full of fish, lots of miniature hills, and a switchbacked isthmus between two ponds that was perfect for riding bikes across. The place was full of wildlife – birds and mammals and butterflies. A whole community came there to fish and play and ride.
