A Journey to Reclaim the Land

Spanning more than 900,000 acres, 西弗吉尼亚州的莫农加希拉国家森林是美国生态最多样化的地区之一. 风景优美的远景，流动的溪流，和丰富的野生动物帮助定义它的辉煌.

But some areas acquired over the years by the U.S. 林业局开垦的矿山土地没有得到适当的恢复. Compacted soil, a lack of native tree cover, and problematic invasive species plaque this land, and it is in need of healing.

这就是专门的重新造林工作发挥作用的地方. The Arbor Day Foundation and the U.S. 林务局与非营利组织绿色森林工作组织合作，恢复这些开垦的矿区的部分土地. And the outcomes have been tremendous.

A Tried-and-True Method

Approximately 25,在莫农加希拉国家森林的宣布边界内，有1000英亩的土地被确定为需要加强恢复的地区. The work began in 2010, starting with 90 acres and a bulldozer. “说实话，林务局一开始对进入的想法有点犹豫, and taking the big bulldozer, and ripping this stuff up. It seemed kind of counter-intuitive,” said Chris Barton, 绿色森林工作组织主席，肯塔基大学流域管理教授.

But the process was proven, 第一个重要的步骤是去除外来和入侵的植被. After the land was cleared, it was ripped. “We rip it to three to four feet deep, 我们在两个方向上做这样撕裂线就互相垂直了,” said Michael French, Green Forests Work’s director of operations. “It really fluffs everything up. It allows water to infiltrate the soil. It allows roots to extend in all directions. 基本上，这就像耕种你的花园——只不过是在森林规模上.”

After the ground was prepped, planting could begin. 种植了高价值的硬木幼苗，以及较小的加拿大28回水木和灌木的生物多样性组合. 因为这些都是这片林地的原生物种，野生动物将从中受益. 由于土壤暴露在外，本土野花也能自己生长.

几年之后，随着最初的90英亩土地进展良好，更多的工作开始了. 现在每年有100-200英亩的国家森林通过这种独特的合作关系得到恢复. Land is prepped, trees are planted, 湿地的产生是为了重建原有的生态系统.

The Importance of the Red Spruce

恢复莫农加希拉国家森林的红杉林至关重要. 曾经，超过50万英亩的红云杉森林遍布西弗吉尼亚州. Due to decades of industrial logging and mining, however, only approximately 50,000 acres remain today. 这给一些地方性和迁徙的野生动物带来了问题.

在恢复的森林地区种植本地红云杉有助于确保这些动物能够获得生存所需的栖息地. 作弊山蝾螈就是一个例子，这是一种仅在该地区发现的濒危物种. It requires the moist, peaty soils found amid the red spruces. 北方鼯鼠以这些加拿大28回水为食物来源:一种生长在红云杉根部的真菌.

金翅莺，一种面临数量下降的鸟类，也依赖于这种森林类型. “我们正在保护金翅莺的优先区域工作, which relies on young forest habitat,” said Michael. “在过去的十年里，我们每年都在创造更多的土地来创造年轻的森林栖息地. But because it is a slower-growing forest type, 这个年轻的森林栖息地也将持续更长的时间.”