The third annual West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Symposoim will be held on April 27 and 28 at the Genetti Hotel in Williamsport.

Scholarships will be available to help with lodging and/or registration fees for students and volunteer group representatives.

The purpose of the West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Symposium is to promote the West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Initiative, which is aimed at the cleanup of abandoned mine drainage throughout the West Branch Susquehanna watershed.

This event serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas regarding abandoned mine drainage abatement in the region and provides an excellent opportunity for networking among volunteers, technical experts, students, and others interested in restoring land and water impacted by abandoned mine drainage.

The topics to be addressed include:

· Could acid mine drainage affect the health of the Chesapeake Bay;

· Freshwater mussels and eels: A missing link in the Susquehanna;

· Barnes & Tucker Treatment in West Branch headwaters;

· American shad restoration in the West Branch;

· Update on the comprehensive West Branch AMD Remediation Strategy;

· AMD project highlights from over a dozen watershed groups throughout the West Branch; and

· The Abandoned Mine Land Fund has been reauthorized – Now what?

A special tour of the Babb Creek Watershed acid mine drainage projects will be held on the afternoon of April 28.

The first-ever West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Symposium was held in May 2005 and the second one was in May 2006. Over 300 people attended representing watershed, sportsmen, and conservation organizations; local, state, and federal government; private industry; and others just simply interested in restoring the West Branch Susquehanna watershed.

For more information on the West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Initiative, read the “West Branch Susquehanna River Watershed: State of the Watershed Report” completed in 2005 by the West Branch Susquehanna Task Force.

For more information on the West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Initiative or the Symposium, contact Amy Wolfe by sending email to: awolfe@tu.org or Rebecca Dunlap at rdunlap@tu.org of Trout Unlimited or call them at 570-726-3118.

2/16/2007