CASE STUDY: POST-MINING LAND-USE PLANNING AND DESIGN: AN OVERVIEW AND MICHIGAN 1

Abstract

Planners, designers, scientists, governmental authorities, non- governmental organizations, and citizens are interested in the thoughtful use and protection of the environment, including surface mined lands. Surface mining is a temporary use of the landscape, leading to a post-mining environment. In the 1960s, the late Ken Schellie was a pioneer in understanding how to create a productive and valuable post-mining environment. The creation of a successful post-mining environment begins with understanding the nature of the deposit and the extraction/processing methods, as this insight leads to opportunities to create productive land through the mining process with little additional costs. Often the post-mining landscape is more valuable than the land before mining. In addition, creating post-mining environments requires knowledge of the current regulation requirements. Being trained in the planning and design processes and having experience and knowledge across the spectrum of potential land uses from urban to wilderness are essential to professionally create post-mining environments. Today the ideas and knowledge gained from post-mining land-use planning and design is influencing other types of reclamation activities such as post-industrial reclamation and reclaiming urban areas. We illustrate the process of post-mining land-use planning and design with a case study from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and show how portions of the design are assessed with landscape metrics.