Ohio University needs to join Dysart Defenders and the Buckeye Forest Council in appealing an Ohio Division of Mineral Resource Management decision regarding Dysart Woods.
Dysart Defenders and the Buckeye Forest Council will appeal The Ohio Division of Mineral Resource Management's approval for The Ohio Valley Coal Company to mine beneath Dysart Woods, and both groups want Ohio University to join them in the appeal process. The woodland has been at the center of a debate of what OU should do to help preserve natural resources in and around Southeast Ohio.
OU owns 455 acres of the old growth forest, but The Ohio Valley Coal Company holds the rights to mine underneath the forest. The coal company claims they can mine the coal without damaging the woods. Groups against mining fear the surface will cave in if the mining is allowed, which would cause harm to the old growth forests.
If the approval is reversed the forest will remain protected and could continue to be used as an outdoor learning lab. But if the appeal fails, The Ohio Valley Coal Company will be allowed to mine legally.
Members of groups appealing the decision also are trying to obtain an injunction, which would put a stop to any mining operations while the appeal decision is made. A combination of an injunction and the university joining forces with the appeal groups will give the old growth forest its best chance of survival.
University officials should appeal the decision to allow mining if they want to save the land and continue using it for educational purposes. OU uses the land as a lab for environmental and biology classes. This, coupled with the fact that an ancient forest with a rich ecological history could be destroyed, is reason enough to grant an appeal.
OU should join Dysart Defenders and the Buckeye Forest Council in appealing the decision and protect the forest's integrity as an ecological symbol.
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