As part of the Great American Expedition event, OSMRE staff joined ODNR in Wellston, Ohio, for the groundbreaking of a new AMLER-funded RV park on reclaimed mine land.
The $1,849,400 project will transform the site adjacent to the Wellston Recreation Sports Complex into a regional outdoor destination, projecting more than 5,000 overnight visits per year.
⏳ Time is running out! Nominate standout reclamation projects before the deadline! Nominations for the Excellence in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Awards are due Friday, May 29.
📌 Eligible for nomination:
✅ Surface coal mining & reclamation under a Title V
permit (1978–present)
✅ Government-funded reclamation under Enhanced
AML regulations
✅ AML projects integrated with active Title V mining
🚫 Not eligible: AML projects done entirely separate
from Title V operations
Learn more about the details: https://t.co/83TApaJTTm
🏆Now are accepting nominations for the 2026 Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards! These awards, presented in partnership with the National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs, recognize outstanding state and tribal efforts to reclaim abandoned coal mines.
➡️Nominations must be received by May 29.
➡️Submit nominations or questions about the awards by emailing [email protected]
For more information about the awards, eligibility, and the nomination process and requirements, visit AML Reclamation Awards at: https://t.co/Co5vqzJeix
“If words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice.” —Ronald Reagan
From the NMMR, we wish you all a happy and safe Memorial Day! #freedom250#minemap
Coal built entire communities. OSMRE and state and Tribal partners are now reclaiming what was left behind, and the results go far beyond restoring land.
📰Read the full story: https://t.co/SoVj2nuvju
This Memorial Day, and always, we remember and honor the service members who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation’s freedom. Their courage, dedication, and sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Photo of U.S. Navy Sailors at Pearl Harbor National Memorial
It's time for the next step in our How it's Done Series! This month, we focus on our Scan Processing step. In this step, we take a newly scanned document, and we crop it, position it to the north, add our title block and make sure it is ready for public view! #howitsdone#minemap
Memorial Day isn’t about cookouts or beach days. It’s about the Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice so the rest of us could live free.
THIS 60-SECOND VIDEO REMINDS US WHAT THE DAY IS REALLY ABOUT. 🇺🇸
A family in Jackson County, Ohio partnered with OSMRE and the Ohio AML Program to plant native species and restore 60 acres of abandoned mine land.
Read the full story: https://t.co/iJDWVEZHWI
OSM staff connected with students at the Kamin Science Center's STEM SciTech Day, answering questions about career pathways and reclamation practices.
📚Read the full story: https://t.co/mEz3hy7zTn #Freedom250#STEM
Bonus edition of “How It’s Done”! Archives Specialist Jessica shows how to safely humidify documents using an easy, at-home setup. It’s one of the ways the NMMR preserves and scans historic mine maps for future generations. Check it out here: https://t.co/TaNFHhEqeF #howitsdone
More than 110 local students teamed up with natural resource professionals at a mine site near Hazard, KY, to plant trees and learn about forestry and abandoned mine land restoration.
This ARRI event, hosted in partnership with KY River Properties, is helping transform a repeatedly mined and reclaimed site into a native forest and wildlife habitat.
Learn more about our ARRI visit:https://t.co/LE9L8DZk9A
JUST ANNOUNCED! Nearly $679.4 million in FY2026 grants to clean up abandoned coal mines across 22 eligible states and the Navajo Nation.
We are unlocking new reclamation and economic potential for communities that powered America for generations.
Read the full news release: https://t.co/B12SzWBHMX
✅More than 100 high school students in Richlands, VA, planted native trees on reclaimed mine land in Tazewell County.
🌳 The annual ARRI Arbor Day event connects classroom learning to real conservation work.
Big results from our OSM staff at the Gosline H2Ohio AMD site. Their hands‑on restoration work and partnership with H2Ohio are helping clean up waterways, restore land, and protect the future of the Upper Rush Creek watershed.
The total cost was approximately $1.9 million, consisting of $700,000 in H2O funding and $1,282,784 in IIJA funding.
The project improves water quality across the watershed and transforms damaged mine lands into healthier, more resilient ecosystems.
Surface mining and reclamation today reflect decades of progress across interconnected disciplines. What ties them together is not a single technology, but an integrated approach, where engineering, science, monitoring, and community planning reinforce one another.
Innovation doesn’t happen only in laboratories, it happens across the American landscape. Every day, OSMRE and its partners help shape the future of responsible resource management.
Since SMCRA laid the groundwork for stronger national regulation, new tools and techniques, such as remote sensing, advanced landform design, and modern water treatment technologies that continue to reduce the challenges of surface mining and strengthen community safety.
Explore how today’s science-driven mining and reclamation practices reflect ongoing innovation and national progress: https://t.co/2D1uX5kGLW