#2...

Erik Reece is very concerned about the wildlife that is being effected by Mountain Top Removal (Reece, Lost Mountain, 2007); Reece goes into great detail in his book, Lost Mountain, Reece talks about the Flying Squirrels around the mountains being effected by Mountain Top Removal, when Reece visits and meets a Naturalist, Jim Krupa, he watches and learns about how their habitat is being taken away from them and their numbers are dwindling, in fact, of the seventeen squirrels that were caught and tagged by Krupa, only two of the tagged squirrels were able to survive until the following summer; it is because of the human interaction, the coal companies interaction in this area that has caused the loss of habitat and safety for these animals, the coal company removes the trees and shelter in order to make it more accessible for their machines. This land is then left to be "reclaimed" by companies to build on; this land is often left the way the coal companies leave it and the wildlife around the mountain to fend for themselves, causing them to leave the area or die.