The American Society of Reclamation Services hosted another in its series of webinars on The Four R's - Mine Reclamation, Restoration, Remediation And Rehabilitation las week which is now available on demand.

The terms reclamation, restoration, remediation, and rehabilitation are often described as the Four R's when it comes to dealing with abandoned mine areas.

Reclamation and restoration are the two most commonly used terms, with restoration being used more in recent years.

What do those two have in common, and how are they different? How are the concepts as conceived and implemented under SMCRA similar to those principles of ecological restoration?

This webinar will provide the basis for discussion on these questions.

The speakers presenting for this webinar include--

-- Brenda Schladweiler, Ph.D. is the president and owner of BKS Environmental Associates, Inc. which has been in business since 1981. She has been the recipient of the Wyoming Women of Influence Award in the Energy & Utilities category and received the Reclamationist of the Year Award from the American Society of Mining and where she served as President of that organization in 2015. 

Educational background includes Ph.D. in Soil Science, University of Wyoming; M.S. in Soil Science, University of Wyoming; and B.S. in Range Management (Land Rehabilitation), Colorado State University.

--Peter D. Stahl, Ph.D. is an ecologist and soil scientist appointed to the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at the University of Wyoming in 2000. Dr. Stahl received his B.S. in 1978 from Oklahoma State University, and his Ph.D. in 1989 from University of Wyoming.

Before returning to Wyoming, he completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the U.S. National Science Foundation Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University and worked as a soil microbiologist at the USDA/ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory.

He, his students, and colleagues have published in excess of 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers on Soil Microbial Ecology and Ecosystem Recovery on restored lands.

-- Jeff Skousen, Ph.D. is a Professor of Soil Science and the Reclamation Specialist at West Virginia University. He received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, and M.S. and B.S. degrees from Brigham Young University.

Jeff has more than 40 years of experience in coal mining and reclamation. He teaches courses in Soil Science, Environmental Science, and Reclamation of Disturbed Soils.

Dr. Skousen’s research areas include acid mine drainage control and treatment, overburden and soil analyses, oil and gas site reclamation, revegetation of disturbed lands, remediating contaminated soils and water, reforestation, native plant restoration, biomass for bioenergy, and post-mining land use development.

He has published over 350 articles in journals, proceedings, books, extension publications, and other media outlets. He works with other faculty, directs graduate student research, publishes results in journals and proceedings, and presents findings at professional meetings.

He also organizes the annual Acid Mine Drainage Task Force Symposium, conducts seminars and workshops on mined land reclamation, and consults with state and federal agency personnel, landowners, coal operators, and consultants. He edits the magazine Reclamation Matters.

He travels overseas to work on land reclamation issues in Asia and Europe. In 2020, he and a colleague published the book Appalachian Coal-Mined Landscapes: Resources and Communities in a New Energy Era.

Click Here to register for the webinar.  Click Here to find other webinars in this series on demand.

(Courtesy: Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation.)

Related Article:

-- U.S. House Hearing On Reauthorizing Federal Abandoned Mine Lands Program: We Don’t Deserve To Wait Any Longer For Clean Streams, Diversified Economies

Related Articles This Week:

-- Bay Journal: It Takes Coal To Heal Coal's Scars On The Landscape; Future Funding In Doubt - Part II

-- Ohio River Valley Institute: Repairing The Damage: Cleaning Up The Land, Air, Water Damaged By Coal Mining Before 1977

-- DEP Accepting Applications For Growing Greener Plus, EPA Section 319 Watershed Restoration, Protection, Mine Reclamation Grants Starting April 22

Posted: April 14, 2021]

4/19/2021