Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, is heavily impacted by legacy anthracite mining, with abandoned mine lands creating safety hazards and degraded habitat. Through reclamation at the Llewellyn South, Branchdale East, and Lorberry Junction sites, Woodlands for Wildlife (W4W) is restoring these landscapes to improve public safety, enhance environmental quality, and expand recreational opportunities.

Comprehensive Reclamation Strategy

W4W required a comprehensive reclamation strategy to address hazardous AML features, including stripping pits, spoil piles, highwalls, and abandoned mine shafts that pose risks to public safety and watershed health. The program also sought to preserve valuable aquatic and wildlife habitats while enhancing land accessibility for hunting, fishing, and other passive recreational uses. The three sites contain a complex mix of AML hazards that require site-specific remediation while supporting broader watershed restoration objectives. Existing flooded pits provide quality aquatic habitat and therefore must be preserved even as surrounding hazards are eliminated. Sensitive ecological considerations, including potential bat use of abandoned mine shafts and coordination with regional restoration partners, added complexity to project planning and design.

Improving Safety and Environmental Quality

A coordinated reclamation program was developed to address hazards across the Llewellyn South, Branchdale East, and Lorberry Junction AML sites while maximizing environmental and community benefits. Engineering measures include regrading unstable spoil piles and highwalls, eliminating hazardous mine openings, and revegetating disturbed areas to establish long-term site stability. Biological assessments are being conducted to evaluate bat habitat within mine shafts, with bat-compatible gates and culverts incorporated where appropriate to maintain ecological function while improving public safety. At Lorberry Junction, beneficial reuse of dredged sediments from Sweet Arrow Lake County Park will support mine pit backfilling and site restoration, creating an innovative, multi-benefit solution through partnership with the Schuylkill County Conservation District.

Project Results

The reclamation program will transform large AML-impacted landscapes into safer, more accessible wildlife and recreation areas while expanding opportunities for hunting, fishing, and passive outdoor use. By eliminating hazardous features and reducing pathways for sediment and abandoned mine drainage impacts, the projects will also contribute to improved watershed conditions and enhanced ecological value.

Project Details

Location:
Schuylkill County, PA
Owner:
Woodlands for Wildlife