Local News in Letcher County
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The Mountain Eagle
Published September 16Once planted to help wildlife and reclaim mines, autumn olive now called invasive
The red berries covering autumn olive bushes across Letcher County this fall are reminders of a well-intended conservation effort that produced consequences few people anticipated. Today, autumn olive is classified as an invasive plant that can crowd out vegetation native to…
The Mountain Eagle
Published September 16Why bushes spread so far
The very qualities that made autumn olive attractive for reclamation eventually made it a serious environmental problem. Autumn olive has now spread from former strip-mine sites and earlier wildlife plantings to private property throughout Letcher County, including places far…
The Mountain Eagle
Published September 16Berries do make good jams, jellies despite the problems bushes bring
Although autumn olive has become an invasive nuisance across Letcher County, its abundant red berries have long been used to make jams and jellies. L.M. “Mike” Caudill, who submitted the accompanying photograph, remembers gathering the berries for his late mother in-law, who made…
The Mountain Eagle
Published September 02Corps widened Neon streams in 1962
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has worked on flood-control channels in the Fleming-Neon area before. A federal project completed in October 1962 widened portions of Boone Fork, Wright Fork and Yonts Fork in an effort to reduce flooding in the Neon-Fleming area. According to…