During the coal boom of the late 1870s, the areas surrounding Monday Creek were known as the "Little Cities of Black Diamonds."

Now citizens living near Monday Creek are looking for ways to clean up the watershed and erase the ill effects of the town's coal mining heritage.

Through the Monday Creek Restoration Project, residents are working with federal and state agencies in an effort to restore the water quality of the 27-mile creek, Coordinator Mike Steinmaus said.

One of the more recent projects developed by this group is the Monday Creek Management Plan, said Scott Miller, the environmental project manager for the Institute for Local Governments and Rural Development.

The plan is a document that will aid decision making in regards to the watershed, he said. The watershed includes portions of Athens, Hocking and Perry counties.

"It sets a vision for the future of the Monday Creek watershed," Miler said.

The plan addresses many development issues, including housing, roads and bike paths, he said.

"The management plan is about the best way to do that (land development) without impacting the watershed, people and animals near Monday Creek," he said.

Miller said those involved with the Monday Creek Restoration Project have been working on these issues for more than four years and needed a document to define the problems involved.

Six public meetings were held to get input about citizens' concerns and how these problems should be dealt with, he said. The entire process started 18 months ago.

"They created it," Miller said. "We just put it together."

The group is also working on other projects to help restore the water quality, and have many issues to deal with.

One of the biggest problems with the creek is acid-mine drainage coming from old mines in the area, and members of the Monday Creek Restoration Project are trying to find ways to raise the pH level of the water so aquatic life can survive, Miller said.

"In some places the water has the acidity of vinegar," he said.

The group is working on ways to counteract the effects coal mines have on areas around the creek as well.

When first developed, the areas around Monday Creek were very intensely mined, John Winnenberg, a community organizer, said.

"It is the best example of a coal mining town in Ohio," he said. "The area kind of sprung up overnight because of the coal mining industry."

Winnenberg said there are a lot of other problems in the community, including a high unemployment rate and economic depression, but citizens are starting to warm up to the idea of cleaning up the creek.

"I think they have done a nice job of trying to educate people," Winnenberg said. "It is not a top priority for a lot of people, but they have involved them."

Miller said both the management plan and the restoration group have been successful thus far.

"It has brought people together and helped them to think long term," he said. Sometimes you are too close to the forest to see the trees, but we have been very successful in terms of identifying problems."