The aftermath of over a century's worth of unregulated coal mining in Pennsylvania has taken its toll on the land, water and communities where the mining occurred. Nearly a quarter of a million acres of mining disturbed land and over 5,000 miles of mine polluted miles of streams still remain. An estimated $15 billion dollars will be needed in Pennsylvania alone to adequately address these problems.

The magnitude of these problems is too extensive for government alone to tackle. We recognize that local partnerships comprised of government, industry, academia and community groups who take upon themselves the task of fixing problems on a local level is a meaningful way to get more done, more quickly.

"Watershed Organizations", local volunteers banding together have repeatedly shown their worth in spearheading local reclamation efforts on a local level. They expand the reach of government. The folks comprising watershed groups provide the needed spark, but often lack the technical. organizational, and financial means to support reclamation efforts on their own.

This conference is geared toward helping watershed organization volunteers with some of the knowledge and contacts they will need in tackling AMR in their local communities.