ASWM State/Tribal/Federal Coordination Workshop
February 25, 2010
Nathan Havens, Water Pollution Biologist, Pennsylvania Game Commission
Independent State Agency
receive NO state tax monies
funded by hunting and trapping license fees, timber and
mineral sales, and federal excise taxes on sporting arms
and ammunition
Mission:
To manage Pennsylvania’s wild birds and mammals, and
their habitats, for current and future generations
The PGC has acquired, and owns and manages over 1.4 million
acres of State Game Lands throughout the Commonwealth
Partnerships w/ Other Conservation Organizations & Agencies
increase wetland acreage and/or improve wetland functions and values w/out a regulatory
obligation
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program, USDA-NRCS, Ducks
Unlimited, Ruffed Grouse Society, etc., etc.
MOU w/ the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT)
wetlands replaced directly to meet permit requirements
wetland banks constructed to meet future wetland replacement needs
Partnerships w/ Mining Companies Operating on Private and PGC-Owned
Mineral Reserves
wildlife habitat enhancements required under PGC mineral leases
collaboration w/ companies on privately owned reserves to incorporate wildlife habitat as part
of their reclamation plans
i.e. conversion of erosion and sedimentation control ponds rather than removal
Special Circumstances
wetland replacement by private entities to meet regulatory obligations
treatment wetlands for AMD and/or acid deposition abatement projects completed by
watershed organizations
Pilot woodcock habitat site for the PA Woodcock Habitat
Initiative on State Lands (WHISL)
1 of 28 potential sites identified in PA for woodcock habitat
creation/enhancement (22 on game lands)
Designed by the Ruffed Grouse Society & Mackin Engineering
funded in part by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Constructed by PennDOT under MOU w/ PGC
will serve as a wetland mitigation bank for future transportation projects in the
watershed
30,000 seedlings provided by the PGC’s Howard Nursery
15 acres of scrub shrub wetland restored
tile drains broken and plugged
low berms constructed to diversify habitat w/ shallow pools
dogwood and alder planted
10 acres of uplands enhanced
hawthorne and aspen planted
now managed as early successional habitat
Over 50 additional acres west of the WHISL site are, and will be
enhanced by the PGC to provide additional PSS wetlands and
early successional habitat
Constructed in the mid-1990’s
through a partnership between the
PGC and the USFWS
under the Partners for Wildlife
Program w/ major funding
provided by the USDA-NRCS
Over 35 acres of wetlands
constructed/enhanced
One of many large wetland
complexes constructed throughout
SGL #249 in partnership w/
USFWS and other local
conservation organizations
In addition to royalties, Fisher Mining Company (Fisher) was required
to complete numerous wildlife habitat enhancement projects on SGL
#75 as part of its surface mining coal leases with the PGC
One project involved the creation of wetlands using erosion and
sedimentation control ponds that would have otherwise been
reclaimed post-mining
wetlands were not impacted by the mining operation, so there was no
regulatory requirement to replace any wetland acreage
Wetland design developed by Fisher, the PGC and the PA Fish & Boat
Commission (PF&BC)
Construction completed by Fisher w/ oversight by the PGC and PF&BC
Over 6 acres of PEM/PUB/PAB wetlands created
Various species of panfish were released in the deeper
wetlands, and we now have a reproducing population of
largemouth bass, and likely other species, in at least one of
the wetland cells
Northern harriers, great blue and green herons, numerous
species of waterfowl, turkeys, and various mammal species
have been observed using the wetlands
An additional 3+ acres are being planned elsewhere on the
mine in the coming years
The Clearfield Foundation was looking for state land to construct
replacement wetlands to meet state and federal permitting
requirements for a proposed industrial park
state-owned land was more desirable to the permitting agencies due the
inherent protections associated w/ it
The Foundation entered into a Cooperative Agreement w/ the PGC to
construct 13.75 acres of replacement PEM and PSS wetlands on SGL #34
included 5 acres of upland food plots to further benefit elk and other area
wildlife
Design, construction, planting, and monitoring funded entirely by the
Foundation
PGC purchased parcel in 2006 w/out any mineral rights, included
reclaimed surface coal mine still under bond
two E&S ponds remained on site and holding water
In order to get their bonds released, Hoffman Mining, Inc. (Hoffman)
needed to remove the ponds or the PGC had to take responsibility for
them
PGC agreed to take responsibility if Hoffman provided equipment for converting the
ponds to wetlands
Design completed by BluAcres, LLC and funded by USFWS Partners’
Program
Partners’ Program also provided outlet control structure
Construction completed by Hoffman and the PGC
Existing E&S pond berms lowered and modified to create
approximately 2.6 acres of wetlands
upland area north of ponds used to create approximately 0.75 acres of
additional wetlands
Project is located w/in 2 miles of the Flight 93 National
Memorial
2010 Conference of the North American Wildlife Enforcement
Officers Association being held in PA
SGL #93, including these wetlands and other recent habitat
improvements, will be dedicated to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Officer
Richard J. Guadagno who lost his life on Flight 93
Nathan Havens, Water Pollution Biologist
Pennsylvania Game Commission
Bureau of Wildlife Habitat Management
Division of Environmental Planning & Habitat Protection
[email protected]
717-787-4250 x3606