Twenty-five of us, including several children, enjoyed the day-long outing. The irrepressible Don Garvin and his fellow TU'er Bryan Moore had collected about 1200 seedlings nearby with the Forest Service's permission. Our destination was a relatively wide bottom near the confluence of Second Fork, about ten river miles upstream from Spring Review headquarters at the Cheat Mountain Club. Because a bridge was out on the east-side river road, we had to detour through parts of the old Mower Tract that had been strip-mined in the Sixties and Seventies. Most of the sites have been reclaimed and planted with rows of spruce and pine. Some of the settling ponds are failing and allowing sediment into the streams; others are extremely acidic and will require careful treatment. The long drive did provide some fine views of the Cheat Mountain Backcountry and east across the Tygart Valley toward Rich Mountain.

The road ends at Beaver Creek. There, Dr. Todd Petty of West Virginia University's Wildlife and Fisheries Department gave us an overview of the ecological health of the upper Shavers Fork. Some native brook trout are beginning to reproduce in the tributaries. Restoring the mainstem as a brook trout fishery will depend on the river's physical stability, water quality, and temperature.

Shovels on shoulders, seedlings in backpacks and buckets, we set out on the railroad to the planting site. The natural beauty and good company offset the annoyance of walking more than a mile on railroad ties and ballast. Todd Petty pointed out areas where planting would help most with shading and stream stabilization. He cautioned us to plant above the high-water marks. We found that one- to two-foot seedlings could be planted and watered quickly in the soft soil. In about an hour, we were finished.

I imagined our seedlings growing to join the red spruce of varying ages that were scattered about, creating shade for the fish, stability for the river, and shelter for the birds and animals. And I watched twenty-five people helping each other to plant and water, getting to know the backcountry and some new friends. I think we could have planted another 1200 trees.

Afterwards, several people disappeared up Second Fork to fish, and a couple tried to return to the Club on the river -- the water was too low for kayaks, though. Back at the Club, I strolled on the trails pondering the river and its setting, 60,000 bruised acres beginning to heal. The Cheat Mountain Backcountry will never be "restored" to the way it was in 1850; too much was changed too abruptly and profoundly. But all of nature is always changing. The healing of the headwaters is just another change in eons of change. After the mining and timbering, we're seeing a healthier balance emerge. We can help that process.

Perhaps planting trees gives us such satisfaction because we feel part of that long-term healing. Perhaps planting trees helps us heal, too, as part of a society that made short-term decisions with long-term results. Giving back. Smoothing soil over the delicate roots of promise.