LOCK HAVEN – On September 21, the Pennsylvania Game Commission celebrated the completion of an abandoned mine reclamation project on State Game Land 321 in West Keating Township, Clinton County, one of several projects that the Commission is working on to address abandoned mine lands and mine drainage.
“The Pennsylvania Game Commission is to be commended for its exemplary work on this project, and for its promotion and support of abandoned mine reclamation projects that benefit wildlife habitat and improve water quality on public lands.” said Amy Wolfe, Trout Unlimited’s Director of Abandoned Mine Programs.
The completed project, which reclaimed 132 acres of abandoned mine lands and more than 11,200 feet of dangerous highwalls – steep, exposed areas of rock left as a result of the mining activities – will provide numerous habitat benefits for wildlife and will help to improve water quality. The Pennsylvania Game Commission worked in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation which administered the $1.3 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP)Growing Greener Program.
Trout Unlimited is working with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to restore Loop Run, a tributary to the West Branch Susquehanna River in Clinton County that is polluted with abandoned mine drainage. The project has not yet been funded, but both Trout Unlimited and the Commission are hopeful that the funds will be obtained and work can begin in the next couple years.
The West Branch Susquehanna River basin contains more than 1,200 stream miles that are polluted with abandoned mine drainage and over 36,000 acres of abandoned mine lands. Trout Unlimited is the lead organization in the West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Initiative, an effort aimed at the restoration of coldwater trout streams and the ultimate recovery of the West Branch Susquehanna River.
“Projects such as this one by the state Game Commission have really been helping to improve water quality throughout the West Branch Susquehanna River watershed,“ said Wolfe, “The recent mayfly hatches, coupled with reports of people catching fish on the river from Renovo to Lock Haven are proof of that.”