Wise County Research Articles

Witch Hunt in Wise County: The Persecution of Edith Maxwell.

Witch Hunt in Wise County: The Persecution of Edith Maxwell.

Witch hunt in Wise County: the persecution of Edith Maxwell

Witch hunt in Wise County: the persecution of Edith Maxwell

Possible use of wetlands in ecological restoration of surface mined lands

Surface mining for coal has dramatically altered millions of hectares throughout the Appalachian region of eastern North America. Flat benches and vertical high walls have replaced well-drained slopes, and wetlands have developed ‘accidentally’ on abandoned benches. Surface mining is continuing in this region, but new regulations do not include specifications for wetland construction in the reclamation process. Recent research has suggested that many ecosystem services appropriate for the Appalachian landscape could be performed by constructed wetlands. Inclusion of wetland construction in a reclamation plan could lead to a net increase in wetland acreage locally, as well as offset the loss of natural and/or accidental wetlands. By studying accidentally-formed wetlands, we hope to determine what species can be established in wetlands that are constructed to enhance nontreatment goals in reclamation. Study sites included 14 emergent wetlands in Wise County, Virginia. Sampling in June and August detected a total of 94 species in 36 vascular plant families. Obligate wetlands species, species that occur in wetlands over 99 percent of the time, were found in all 14 sites and included 26 species. The presence of so many wetland species without intentional management efforts suggests that wetland establishment could become a common component of mine reclamation.

Many Waters: Poems from West Virginia (review)

Llewellyn McKernan. Many Waters: Poemsfrom West Virginia. Mellon Poetry Press, P. O. Box 450, Lewiston, NY 14092. 1993. Even though my "to do" list includes a dozen other tasks, I have read Llewellyn McKernan's book three times. Each time it has given me new pleasure. Here is a volume that looks good to the eye, feels good to the touch, sounds good to the ear. And, as if that were not enough, it sparks the imagination and stimulates the intellect. McKernan's subjects are ordinary—deceptively so. The first section, tided for the poem which is a favorite of McKernan fans, is called "The Girl in the Black Leather Raincoat," a graveside meditation that goes far beyond the grave and far beyond meditation. Included in this section is a poem about swimming in a river and one about tree stumps, but these pieces, too, go far beyond swimming and stumps. The second section contains just one long poem, "The Fast." This tightly focused piece leads the reader through a gamut of emotions from humor to pathos, all focused on a hospital patient who refuses to eat. The third section describes the seasons and natures of 4-Pole Creek. The fourth section is titled "Neighbors" and is a delightful collection of character sketches about the subjects of the poems and about the narrator-poet. The poetry of Llewellyn McKernan is three- or four- or five-dimensional. There is surface subject, and there is the poet's insight into the subject, and there is the reader's response, and there is the enrichment of literary and historical—archetypal—allusion, and there is the religious undertone established by the epigraphs. The poems reflect a tremendous variety of human experience, all the way from the "verbless" language of the Far North to the traditionalist patriarchal culture of Latin America to the unreality and lostness of big cities like New York. It is soon obvious that these experiences are being interpreted by a West Virginian poet who has her own but wonderfully Appalachian view of the world. One of the great strengths of McKernan's poetry is its imagery and metaphor. They are mixed, both in terms of the imagery being couched in metaphor and in terms of the mixing of metaphor within a poetic phrase. The latter characteristic in the hands of a less masterly writer might be a serious problem, but McKernan handles it gracefully and effectively. In fact, the mixes are just plain wonderful. Examples abound: "the moon falls like a cancerous white cell," "I pull off my lips and give them to dirt," "my daughter slips like a vow through blue water, rides a white lion that slides through her fingers . . . her glistening body a certain cloud God spins into waking and sleeping," "the nurses' rock-a-bye shoes." Granted, once in a while the mixes don't work too well, as in "ice hugging the bank lifts anchor, splintering into panes that melt and drift downstream" or as in the somewhat troublesome 71 conjunction of apparently contradictory verbs and adjectives used to describe 4PoIe Creek. This poetry is worth reading over and over. This book is a joy. —Barbara Smith Lonesome Pine Office on Youth. Looking Back: Wise County in the Early Years. Norton, Virginia: Lonesome Pine Office on Youth, 1992. 251 pages. Hardbound: $40.00. Wise County is a place where southwestern Virginia's spacious valleys penetrate the rugged Cumberland Plateau. Most of the county drains southwestward via the Powell and Clinch rivers, but northern Wise County drains to a branch of the Russell, which flows north into the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy. There the little town of Pound—the home town of U-2 pilot Gary Francis Powers— nestles at the foot of Pound Gap barely three miles from Jenkins, Kentucky, on the other side of Pound Gap. South a bit along the state line, Wise County's towns of Roda and Stonega lie just over a ridge from Harlan County's town of Lynch, Kentucky. Other Wise County coal towns of that border country include Big Stone Gap, Inboden (sometimes spelled Imboden), Inman, and Pardee. From those ragged hills it seems topographical light years...

Looking Back: Wise County in the Early Years (review)

Looking Back: Wise County in the Early Years (review)

The practice of “approximate original contour” in the central Appalachians. II. Economic and environmental consequences of an alternative

Coal surface mining has had profound effects on the steeply sloping central Appalachian (U.S.A.) landscape since the early 1950s. The “shoot-and-shove” mining practices of past years resulted in a number of environmental problems. A federal law, The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), was passed to rectify these problems. A major provision of SMCRA is its requirement that mined lands be returned to “approximate original contour” (AOC). SMCRA has brought vast improvements in reclamation practice to central Appalachia. However, the return of surface mined lands to AOC remains highly controversial, as many criticize the environmental, economic, and land-use effects of AOC. An alternative to conventional contour surface mining (AOC) was investigated at an experimental mining site in Wise County, Virginia. The terrain at this site is the steeply sloping “points and hollows” topography commonly found throughout the central Appalachian coalfields, and the equipment utilized was typical of haul-back mining operations throughout the region. This experimental alternative allowed all highwalls to be covered and all SMCRA performance standards (except AOC) to be met. A detailed investigation of the cost of mining and reclamation indicates that the experimental reclamation method was less costly than conventional AOC reclamation at this site. Additional favorable consequences result from implementation of the alternative method, including an improvement of the post-mining land-use potential and less-injurious environmental effects. Although AOC represents a vast improvement over the reclamation methods which preceded SMCRA, additional improvements are possible; opportunities to improve the economic and environmental consequences of coal surface mining in central Appalachia are not being realized under the prevailing AOC reclamation regime.

Pitch × Loblolly Pine Growth in Organically Amended Mine Soils

AbstractSoils on the mountainous terrain of southwestern Virginia are difficult to recover and replace before and after surface mining for coal. For this reason, combinations of soil, weathered rock, and blasted, unweathered rock are authorized as topsoil substitutes. If treated and amended properly, topsoil substitutes might be made even more productive for tree growth than the original soil disturbed by mining. Accordingly, the benefits of added municipal sewage sludge, sawdust, and inorganic fertilizer were assessed. Seven surface treatments were applied to 2:1 sandstone/siltstone overburden on a reclaimed coal surface mine in Wise County Virginia: fertilizer (168, 147, and 139 kg/ha of N, P, and K, respectively); limed (7.8 Mg/ha), and fertilized topsoil (30 cm deep); fertilized sawdust (112 Mg/ha) + 336 kg/ha slow‐release N (SRN); and lime‐treated municipal sewage sludge at rates of 22, 56, 112, and 224 Mg/ha. Stem volumes of 3‐yr‐old pitch × loblolly pines (Pinus rigida Mill. × P. taeda L.) were five times larger in soils amended with sawdust + SRN and nearly three times larger in soils amended with 22 and 56 Mg/ha sludge than fertilized‐only seedlings. Soil moisture retention was two times higher in sawdust‐amended soils than in all other treatments and contributed to increased seedling growth. Increased seedling mortality and decreased growth due to severe Mn deficiencies and/or high soluble salt levels was observed in the 112 and 224 Mg/ha sludge treatments.

Geology and Stratigraphy of Devonian and Lower Mississippian Sediments of Roaring Fork-Looney Creek Field, Wise County, Virginia, and Harlan County, Kentucky: ABSTRACT

The Roaring Fork-Looney Creek field produces from the Devonian shale and the Berea, Sunbury, Injun or Weir, and Greenbrier (Big Lime) formations. The Devonian shale production is from the Cumberland Plateau fault block and the Pine Mountain (Cumberland) overthrust fault block. The Pine Mountain thrust fault courses through the lower members of the Devonian shale. Isopachs of the shales total thickness are useful for determining the volume of reservoir rock in an area but not for depositional interpretation. Gas production from beneath the Pine Mountain thrust fault is an extension of the shale-gas production in the Big Sandy gas field of Kentucky. Although the shale has relatively low initial flow rates, its relatively long production life provides the largest gas reserves. The Berea Formation is shale in the field area and, like the overlying Sunbury Shale, thins from east to west. The normal completion practice for these formations is to perforate the upper part of the Devonian, Berea, and Sunbury shales at the same time, as one overall shale interval. The Injun or Weir is a sandstone-shale sequence that thins from west to east, and its sandstone members become siltstones and shale in the same direction. This sequence has providedmore » the best high-sustained flow rates in the field. The Greenbrier has sporadic porosity development, which typically develops in the lower half of the formation. This limestone thickens to the east. Although the Greenbrier has high initial production rates after treatment, the rate of decline is relatively steep.« less

Results of a Tree Species Trial on a Recontoured Surface Mine in Southwestern Virginia

Abstract Fifteen tree species, five pine and ten hardwood, were planted on a reclaimed, return-to-contour, strip-mine site in Wise County, Virginia. A systemic herbicide was sprayed on half of each of four experimental blocks prior to the second growing season. After three growing seasons, this treatment resulted in increased survival of five species. Black locust (Robina pseudoacacia) performed best with 90% survival and a tenfold increase in height. Other hardwoods that showed promise were black alder (Alnus glutinosa), sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), and cottonwood (Populus deltoides). As a group, the pines outperformed the hardwoods. Loblolly (Pinus taeda) and Virginia pine (Pinus Virginiana) were the fastest growing, and survival of each was signifcantly higher on the sprayed plots.

Pyrite Ooliths in Sandstone:in the Cayuga Group (Silurian), Wise County, Virginia

Pyrite Ooliths in Sandstone:<i>in the Cayuga Group (Silurian), Wise County, Virginia</i>

Alvord [3000 ft Strawn] LPG Flood Design and Performance Evaluation

Summary Mitchell Energy Corp. has implemented a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)/drive-gas miscible process in the Alvord (3000 ft Strawn) Unit in Wise County, TX, utilizing the U.S. DOE tertiary incentive program. The field has been waterflooded for 14 years and was producing near its economic limit at the time this project was started. This paper presents the results of the reservoir simulation study that was conducted to evaluate pattern configuration and operating alternatives to maximize LPG containment and oil recovery performance. Several recommendations resulting from this study were implemented for the project. On the basis of model predictions, tertiary oil recovery is expected to be between100,000 and 130,000 bbl [15 900 and 20 700 m3]or about 7% of the oil originally in place (OOIP) in the unit. An evaluation of the project performance through Dec.1981 is presented. This portion of the paper was written after drive-gas injection had just been initiated and represents only a preliminary evaluation of the project. In July 1981 the injection of a 16% hydrocarbon pore volume (HCPV) slug of propane was completed. Natural gas is being used to drive the propane slug. A peak oil response of 222 B/D [35.3 m3/d] was achieved in Aug.1981 and production has since been declining. This compares with a peak rate of 400 B/D [63.6 m3/d] during the waterflood, and an oil rate just prior to initiation of LPG injection of 7 B/D [1.1 m3/d]. The observed performance of the LPG flood indicates that the actual tertiary oil recovered will reach the predicted value, although the project life will be longer than expected. The results presented in this paper indicate that, without the DOE incentive program, the economics for this project would still be uncertain at this time. Introduction The Alvord (3000 ft) is approximately 10 miles [16 km]north of the town of Bridgeport in Wise County, TX(Fig. 1). The Alvord (3000 ft) Unit has been successfully waterflooded and was producing near its economic limit in Dec. 1979. A tertiary flood then was considered as an alternative to abandoning the field. Of the tertiary methods available, micellar flooding was eliminated from serious consideration because freshwater was not available and, according to published screening parameters, the calcium and magnesium concentrations were too high in the reservoir and supply water. CO2 was ruled out because of the question of miscibility at this depth and lack of supply. The LPG/drive-gas miscible process was chosen because miscibility could be achieved and convenient sources of LPG and natural gas were available. Economic risks were reduced because the DOE tertiary incentive program was available at that time. The LPG/drive-gas process has produced favourable results in waterflooded reservoirs in the past. The objective of this process in a waterflooded reservoir is to connect the residual oil with the injected LPG and displace it to the producing wells. The water must be displaced by the developing oil bank, the oil must be miscibly displaced by the LPG, and the LPG must be miscibly displaced by the drive gas. The mobility ratio is unfavorable at all flood fronts, and one should expect viscous fingering of the LPG into the oil bank and viscous fingering of the drive gas into the LPG bank. This is an important phenomenon and results in the rapid dissipation of small LPG slugs. When the reservoir is horizontal, the slug dissipation is faster because of stratification and gravity override. When the LPG slug is dissipated, the process reverts to an immiscible gas drive. In the early history of LPG flooding, the use of slugs that were too small probably prevented many projects from being as successful as expected. Several publications indicated that LPG slug sizes, on the order of 10 % HCPV or less, would be adequate for most reservoir situations. Later, others reported that because of viscous fingering, stratification, and gravity override, larger LPG slugs were needed. From the onset of this project it was felt that a successful project required a large LPG slug (about 20%HCPV). It was also recognized that a pattern flood configuration and operating procedure would have to be adopted that would prevent the mobilized oil and the displacing LPG solvent from migrating downdip into the aquifer. Thus a short simulation study was undertaken before embarking on the field project to evaluate alternative flood patterns and operating procedures and to estimate project recovery performance. General Field Description The field is in the central portion of the Fort Worth basin. It produces from an upper Pennsylvanian Strawn series sandstone, the Bryson sand, which was deposited by fluvial processes. A porous sand isopach of the Bryson sand is presented in Fig. 2. JPT P. 119^

Chemical and mineralogical analysis of devonian black-shale samples from Martin County, Kentucky; Carroll and Washington counties, Ohio; Wise County, Virginia; and Overton County, Tennessee, U.S.A.

Core samples of Devonian shales from five localities in the Appalachian basin have been analyzed chemically and mineralogically. The amounts of major elements are similar; however, the minor constituents, organic C, S, phosphate and carbonate show ten-fold variations in amounts. Trace elements Mo, Ni, Cu, V, Co, U, Zn, Hg, As and Mn show variations in amounts that can be related to the minor constituents. All samples contain major amounts of quartz, illite, two types of mixed-layer clays, and chlorite in differing quantities. Pyrite, calcite, feldspar and kaolinite are also present in many samples in minor amounts. Dolomite, apatite, gypsum, barite, biotite and marcasite are present in a few samples in trace amounts. Trace elements listed above are strongly controlled by organic C with the exception of Mn which is associated with carbonate minerals. Amounts of organic C generally range from 3 to 6%, and S is in the range of 2–5%. Amounts of trace elements show the following general ranges in ppm (parts per million): Co, 20–40; Cu, 40–70; U, 10–40; As, 20–40; V, 150–300; Ni, 80–150; high values are as much as twice these values. The organic C was probably the concentrating agent, and the organic C and sulfide S together created an environment that immobilized and preserved these trace elements. Closely spaced samples showing an abrupt transition in color also show changes in organic C, S and trace-element contents. Several associations exist between mineral and chemical content. Pyrite and marcasite are the only minerals found to contain sulfide-S. In general, the illite—chlorite mixed-layer clay mineral shows covariation with organic C if calcite is not present. The enriched trace elements are not related to the clay types, although the clay and organic matter are intimately associated as the bulk fabric of the rock.

The life cycle and drumming behavior ofZealeuctra claasseni(Frison) andZealeuctra hiteiricker and ross (Plecoptera: Leuctridae) in Texas, USA1

Abstract The life histories of Zealeuctra claasseni (Frison) and Zealeuctra hitei (Ricker and Ross) (Plecoptera: Leuctridae) were determined from observations and sampling on a Red River tributary in Cooke County, and N. Pecan Creek, Wise County, Texas, Dec., 1974‐June, 1978. Both species showed peak emergence when daily temperature was ca. 12°. Emergence was diurnal, with teneral adults and mating pairs found from dawn—late evening. Male‐female drumming signals were successfully recorded for both species. Incubation experiments at simulated stream temperatures indicated rapid embryonic development, so that larvae were visible through the chorion within ca. 4 weeks after deposition. Both species have highly flexible seasonal development patterns. Four types of life cycles seem possible, depending on field conditions: (1) slow univoltine, (2) fast univoltine, (3) slow semivoltine, and (4) fast semivoltine.

Opaline Outgrowths on Lee Formation Sandstones in Wise County, Virginia

Opaline Outgrowths on Lee Formation Sandstones in Wise County, Virginia

Projection of Favorable Gas-Producing Areas from Paleoenvironmental Data: ABSTRACT

End_Page 1591------------------------------Paleoenvironmental biofacies analysis of recently drilled wells in dark Devonian shales in the Appalachian basin has shown that these facies can be projected to areas with no control points. In particular, the facies distributions in Perry County, Kentucky, were found to be precisely those that were predicted earlier from biofacies and organic geochemical data from the VA-1 well in Wise County, Virginia, and the KY-2 well in Martin County, Kentucky. This demonstrates the importance of these data in assessing the volume of gas in the shale throughout the basin as well as in selecting future test sites. The recent biofacies and geochemical work combined with a review of the tectonics of the basin have contributed to an evolving interpretation of the geologic control of the biofacies. While a marine environment persisted throughout the Late Devonian over the Appalachian and Illinois basins (and probably the Michigan basin), dynamic emergent areas controlled an intermittent introduction of large amounts of organic matter. Large amounts of nonmarine organic matter were periodically transported into the basin from a dynamic source provenance on the southeast; massive blooms of Tasmanites intermittently spread both east and west from the edges of the emerging Cincinnati arch. At times one or the other of these organic types swept entirely across the basins; at other times a more normal open-marine biota flourished and was deposited, probably under the influence of connections to the open seas on the south and northwest, the north being closed by the collision and sut ring of continental plates and the east by the growing Appalachian Mountains. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1592------------

The Fossil Fish Lepidotes in the Paluxy Formation, North-Central Texas

Study and reconstruction of disarticulated bones of a fish recovered from the Paluxy Formation of the Trinity Group (Albian) in Wise County reveal that the characters shown in the dermal elements of the skull, dentition and squamation agree with typical characteristics of the semionotid fish genus Lepidotes. Because of the incomplete nature of the specimen it is referred to Lepidotes sp. Superficially it bears a closer resemblance to L. mantelli Agassiz of Lower Cretaceous strata than to any other species but it also has a surprising number of characters in common with Upper Jurassic species. The nature of its dentition suggests that it fed on mollusks in a freshwater environment.

Boonesville Bend Gas Field of Wise County, Texas: ABSTRACT

The Boonesville Bend gas field is one of the largest in North Texas, more than 470 wells producing from an area of approximately 450 square miles, predominantly in Wise County, at the north end of the Fort Worth basin. A thin Cretaceous cover unconformably is underlain by Mississippian limestone which in turn is underlain by the Ellenburger dolomite. The Boonesville pay produces from stratigraphic traps in highly variable lenses of fine- to coarse-grained, well cemented to porous sandstones and fine, poorly sorted conglomerates. The field is producing 5 billion cubic feet of gas per month. Total ultimate recovery is estimated at one trillion cubic feet of gas. The boundaries of the fields are fairly well defined and drilling of inside locations will be the principal futur development in the field. End_of_Article - Last_Page 124------------

Developments in North Texas in 1958

North Texas continues as an active and major producing area even though total completions and production declined from the previous year. It is significant that the number of exploratory tests decreased 49% from 1957. Emphasis was apparently placed on structural studies of known producing trends and on stratigraphic explorations in the Atoka gas reservoirs of Wise County, where most of the activity occurred.

The Genus Desmognathus in Kentucky. I. Desmognathus fuscus welteri Barbour

Since the description of Desmognathus fuscus welteri by Barbour (1950), there have been few papers concerning this race. This paper is a summary of our findings concerning the morphological characteristics, habitat, distribution, and reproduction of this race in Kentucky. Almost all the literature record's of Desmognathus fuscus in Kentucky are listed under D. f. fuscus, since the great majority of the publications antedate the description of D. f. welteri. In the following summary of the literature records, all, except where otherwise noted, were listed under D. f. fuscus. Garman (1894) was apparently the first to record the species from the state with his Pulaski County record. Bishop (1926) listed the species from Breathitt County. Dunn (1926) examined specimens from Bell, Breathitt, Edmonson, Morgan, and Nelson counties. Pope (1928) recorded 104 specimens from Harlan County. Burt (1933) listed specimens from Bell, Cumberland, Estill, Harlan, Knott, Letcher, Metcalfe, Morgan, Perry, Pike, Rockcastle, Wayne, and Whitley counties. Dury and Williams (1933) took specimens from Breathitt, Carter, Harlan, Kenton, Laurel, and Woodford counties. Hibbard (1936) recorded the species from Mammoth Cave National Park Proposed, encompassing parts of Barren, Edtmonson, and Warren counties. Welter and Carr (1939) reported specimens from Carter and Rowan counties. Adams (1939) mentioned specimens from the counties of Breathitt, Knott, Laurel, Lawrence, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, and Perry. Green (1941) reported specitnens from Carter county. Barbour (op. cit.) examined specimens of D. f. welteri from Bath, Carter, Elliot, Harlan, Menifee, Pulaski, and Warren counties in Kentucky, and Wise county, Virginia. Barbour (1953) recorded a series of 761 individuals of D. f. welteri from Harlan county. During the past fifteen years the senior author has accumulated a series of D. fuscus from Kentucky; all are currently deposited in the zoological collections of the University of Kentucky. They are from widespread localities in Kentucky, and all agree in most particulars with topotypical material of D. f. welteri from Harlan country. Apparently, Desmognathus fuscus is represented in Kentucky by a single subspecies, D. f. welteri. Credit is due the Research Fund Committee of the University of Kentucky for financing numerous field trips in the last five years, and many individuals for assistance in collecting specimens. The tedious chore of examining the specimens and recording data was done by the junior author. The sex, snout-vent length, tail length, number of costal grooves, number 352

The Amphibians of Big Black Mountain, Harlan County, Kentucky

BETWEEN 1939 and 1948, the writer camped over four months on Big Black Mountain in Harlan County, Kentucky, making a survey of the amphibians, reptiles, and mammals of the region. Previously published reports deal with the reptiles (Barbour, 1950a) and the mammals (Barbour, 1951). For a general discussion of the area, reference is made to these papers. Big Black Mountain reaches a maximum elevation of 4150 feet above sea level, and is the highest point in Kentucky. It lies largely in Harlan County, Kentucky, but occupies a part of adjacent Wise County, Virginia. The majority of the collections discussed in this paper were made within a four-mile radius of the