Elk habitat acquired; mine clean up slated

Several organizations have teamed up to add more than 1,375 acres to publicly owned elk habitat, while cleaning up the mess left behind by coal mining in Clinton County.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) has purchased the land and conveyed the title to the Pa. Bureau of Forestry.

Back in June, the state earmarked $1.35 million to eliminate cliffs and spoil piles at a former mine in West Keating Township and to restore habitat for elk and other wildlife following reclamation. The project will restore Little Birch Island Run, a tributary to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, and clean up several acid mine discharges into Kettle Creek, also a West Branch tributary.

By reclaiming highwalls and spoil areas, the grant partners will create additional food and habitat areas for an elk herd relocated to western Clinton County in 2000 by the Game Commission. The property will also be managed to offer public viewing of the elk.

The project will involve grading and backfilling approximately 8,000 linear feet of highwall. The area will be top-dressed, seeded and planted.

Work is expected to take one year to complete. Among the organizations involved, in addition to RMEF, are the Pa. Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, Trout Unlimited and the Clinton County Conservation District.