1) Racoon Creek Watershed (Cost: $10)
2) Hocking Hills State Park (Cost: $10)
RACOON CREEK WATERSHED:
On Friday, March 7 at 12:00 noon there will be a bus tour of the Raccoon Creek Watershed Project. This tour will serve as a portal into the fascinating history of surface and underground coal mining in southeast Ohio, including a discussion of the region’s leading role in early U.S. energy dependence and its impacts to overall ecological and watershed health. Lunch and transportation will be provided. Site visits during the afternoon are currently scheduled to include an active mining operation (Sands-Hill coal), an old iron furnace build circa 1850 called Buckeye Furnace at Lake Hope State Park, and at least one acid mine drainage (AMD) reclamation project (see below).
While coal has been mined in/near Athens since the 1800s, reclamation laws were not passed until the mid 1940s and stringent regulations did not begin until the 1970s. These laws were primarily related to revegetation of removed and eroded land soils and were not effective in prevention of aquatic impacts. Over 1300 miles of Ohio streams are subsequently polluted by mine drainage. Coal mining in the Raccoon Creek watershed has taken place since the 1840s and continues today. In these areas a tunnel was typically driven into the side of a hill near a coal outcrop and the coal was subsequently extracted by following the contour of the bed. This type of mining commonly occurred along stream bottoms where erosion had exposed a coal seam and resulted in many of today’s AMD discharges. The coal in southeast Ohio is often located in the rock layers close or directly under stream channels. Within the Raccoon Creek headwaters there are approximately 1,100 acres of abandoned surface mines and 110 acres of abandoned coal refuse piles. AMD from abandoned underground and surface mines has severely degraded water quality within this watershed and reduced the diversity and abundance of fish and macroinvertebrate populations. AMD is formed when pyritic material and other rocks are exposed to oxygen and water, forming sulfuric acid. When acid passes over different rock strata metals including iron, aluminum, and manganese are dissolved, resulting in AMD.
About the Watershed
Raccoon Creek is one of Ohio's longest streams, traveling 112 miles through the Wayne National Forest, Zaleski State Forest and several towns and villages, Raccoon Creek empties directly into the Ohio River near Gallipolis, OH. The Raccoon Creek watershed covers 683.5 square miles in six different counties and is 70-75 percent forested. The steep hillsides, narrow valleys and highly erodible soils in this unglaciated region means that only about 20 to 25 percent of the land is fit for agricultural activity. According to local legend, Raccoon Creek was named for a Native American village located at the fork of its two branches at New Plymouth. The Wyandotte tribe called this village "Etcha-Petcha," which translated means "Raccoon Town."
While primarily rural, the watershed is populated by a handful of villages and small towns that still exist as vestigial outcrops of the region’s past coal mining booms. Abandoned surface and underground coal mines leach thousands of pounds of sulfuric acid and metals into the creek each day. The environmental pressures of growing communities and run-off from roads, fields and abandoned mine sites continue to degrade the habitat. Industrial discharge, trash and untreated sewage rob the creek of oxygen, which is vital to the survival of all aquatic species.
For more information please visit www.raccooncreek.org.
Field Trip Cost: $10 (includes a locally-provided boxed lunch and tour bus transportation costs)
HOCKING HILLS STATE PARK:
On Sunday at 12:15pm there will be an organized outing to scenic Hocking Hills State Park, just 30 minutes away from Ohio University. Our first stop will be Conkle’s Hollow, a rugged, rocky gorge - considered one of the deepest in Ohio. This hollow was named for W.J. Conkle who left his name and the date 1797 carved into the sandstone on the west wall of the gorge. Conkles Hollow is a state nature preserve operated by ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. The valley floor is a veritable wilderness covered by a profusion of ferns and wildflowers while hemlock, birch and other hardwood tower overhead. The growth is so thick in places that little or no sunlight reaches the deep valley floor. The trail leading up the narrow half-mile long ravine is surrounded by vertical cliffs rising over 200 feet above the mouth of the gorge. As the trail continues, the gorge narrows further to only a distance of 300 feet from cliff to cliff. If weather permits (i.e.—no ice), we will also hike the rim trail on top of the cliffs that circle the gorge. These cliffs are the highest in the area and provide some of the most outstanding scenery. Great caution should be exercised on this trail as it can be dangerous in all seasons. A tour guide will be on hand to help identify flora and fauna, as well as give insight into the unique geological and anthropological history of the area.
If time permits, and/or the Rim Trail of Conkle’s Hollow still has some ice cover, we will visit Rock House. Rock House is unique in the Hocking Hills’ region, as it is the only true cave in the park. It is a tunnel-like corridor situated midway up a 150-foot cliff of Blackhand sandstone. This House of Rock has a ceiling 25 feet high while the main corridor is 200 feet long and 20 to 30 feet wide. The cavern was eroded out of the middle zone of the Blackhand sandstone. The resistant upper zone forms the roof and the lower zone forms the floor. Water leaking through a horizontal joint running parallel to the cliff face caused the hollowing of the corridor. This main joint or crack is very visible in the ceiling of the Rock House. A small series of joints run north to south at right angles to the main joint. Enlargement of this series of joints formed the window-like openings of Rock House. Nature has hewn out of this cliff the Rock House complete with seven Gothic-arched windows and great sandstone columns which bear its massive roof. As one might imagine, Rock house was used for shelter by past visitors. Hominy holes, small recesses in the rear wall of Rock House, served as baking ovens for Native Americans using the cave. By building a fire in the small recesses, the rock became heated on all sides, and food could be baked in this crude manner. Further evidence of past use is the presence of chiseled out troughs or holding tanks found in the stone floor. When rainfall is abundant, springs of water permeate through the porous sandstone and flow into these troughs fashioned by man and, when full, continue across the floor and out of the windows. In this way, residents were able to maintain a small water supply in Rock House. According to local folklore, other not so welcome visitors frequented Rock House. Robbers, horse thieves, murderers and even bootleggers earned Rock House its reputation as "Robbers Roost."
What to bring: Water bottle, good pair of hiking shoes, camera, and snacks/lunch.
Vans will be provided, or you may meet us at the designated locations.
Cost: $10