Abstract
This paper outlines the opportunities for visual resource management (VRM) in the southern Appalachian coal basin resulting from the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. It focuses upon VRM as a regulatory activity that works to insure the proper enforcement of the law and effective development of its implementation programs. VRM for Appalachian surface mining is directly controlled by the law which can significantly protect the region's visual resources given proper enforcement and program development. However, the full environmental, economic and social costs of achieving the potential visual benefits are not fully known.
Parent Publication
Citation
Simpson, John W. 1979. Opportunities for visual resource management in the Southern Appalachian Coal Basin. In: Elsner, Gary H., and Richard C. Smardon, technical coordinators. 1979. Proceedings of our national landscape: a conference on applied techniques for analysis and management of the visual resource [Incline Village, Nev., April 23-25, 1979]. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-35. Berkeley, CA. Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Exp. Stn., Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: p. 328-334
