Dysart
Woods rally Thursday to include Glidden
Dysart
Defenders and POPLAR will play a subsidence game of Twister in a demonstration
to protect Dysart Woods Thursday, May 29 at noon at the West Portico of Memorial
Auditorium on College Green, followed by an appearance by OU President Robert
Glidden where students will present him with hundreds of post cards written over
the past several weeks.
The
groups are asking that Ohio University commit to appealing Ohio Valley Coal
Company’s permit D-0360-12 that would undermine every acre of Dysart Woods.
The university has hinted of not appealing the permit that would allow
room and pillar mining under the old growth forest portions and longwall mining
within 300 feet of the ancient forest.
Longwall
mining takes all of a seam of coal, then lets the ground above crash down.
Room and pillar mining leaves pillars of coal in place.
Though room and pillar mining subsidence takes longer, it does occur.
Furthermore, the Ohio Division of Mineral Resources has reported the
dewatering of wells up to a mile and a half from longwall mining panels.
This dewatering would reach all of the old growth forest with just the
longwall mining, not including the room and pillar mining.
“Citizens
need to act now before it is too late,” said Dysart Defenders Coordinator Chad
Kister. “We do not have much time
left, and we need Ohio University’s support to have a better chance of
stopping mining directly underneath this amazing ancient forest.
These are among the very few 500-year old trees left in Ohio.
To sacrifice them for coal, a very abundant mineral, is ecological
insanity.”
Ohio
University should be applauded for hiring attorney Robert Shostak, but the
university needs to take the next step of committing to appealing the –12
permit.
“As head of the public institution delegated to be caretakers of Dysart Woods, Dr. Glidden is responsible to not only the students of the university, but to all of the citizens of Ohio. I hope to see him stand strong and stay true to his word by appealing this permit. The area slated for mining under the -12 permit will cause damage to OU’s surface property, and when it does, it will be back in court for a lawsuit against OVCC, but the integrity of the forest will be lost forever.” Peter Gibbons, Citizen.