Project Area

Management Goals
The Lambert Run Strip abandoned coal mine lands were mined in the 1970s and bought by the U.S. Forest Service in the 1980s as a portion of the 40,745-acre Mower Tract acquisition. Rehabilitation efforts in the 1970s consisted of reshaping the mined areas to a more stable condition and planting species, mostly nonnative, for erosion control. The contemporary result is large areas of heavily compacted soil with low water infiltration, where the predominant cover is aggressive grasses and Norway spruce. Grass-dominated areas remain in a condition termed "arrested succession". The Monongahela National Forest is implementing the Lambert Restoration Project to improve watershed conditions, provide wildlife habitat, and restore native red spruce-northern hardwood ecosystems on Lambert Run and adjacent lands. In May, 2014, the Monongahela National Forest worked with NIACS to carefully consider near and longterm restoration goals and demonstrate how management actions can enhance longterm resilence to climate change.