FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE/OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING
Phil Mil]ion (202) 208-4131
Alan Cole (202) 208-2719
For Release:  August 28, 1990

FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE AND O.S.M. COOPERATE ON COAL RESOURCE
STUDIES IN INDIANA HABITAT AREA

Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land & Minerals Management
David C. O'Neal and Interior Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife
and Parks Constance B. Harriman today announced their approval of
a cooperative agreement to study plans for a proposed wildlife
refuge in southern Indiana.

The cooperative agreement between Interior's Office of Surface
Mining (OSM) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service calls for a
year-long study by OSM of coal reserves and related factors that wi
11 help the Fish and Wildlife Service plan potential boundaries.

The study area covers approximately 21,000 acres in Gibson and Pike
Counties, site of the proposed Patoka River National Wildlife
Refuge.  The locale citizens valuable migration and wintering
habitat for wood ducks and other birds, thanks to wetlands and
hardwood forest uplands.

Under the agreement, OSM will use readily available information on
the thickness and location of coal deposits potentially impacted by
the proposed national wildlife refuge.  The study will estimate the
volume of coal extractable by surface and underground mining.  The
information will help the Fish & Wildlife Service designate
proposed refuge boundaries, prioritize property acquisition from
willing sellers, and assess potential impacts from nearby coal
mining and land reclamation.

Assistant Secretary Harriman said, "We need to know all we can
about the location of coal reserves in the Patoka River area as we
make boundary and operational decisions affecting the refuge
proposal.  Reclamation of previously mined land in the area has
created some extremely productive wetland habitat, including one
area that won an OSM award last year.  The knowledge gained through
these studies can help maximize future wildlife and outdoor
recreation benefits resulting from reclamation on areas where coal
extraction might occur."

Assistant Secretary O'Neal said, "Coal reserve information is
critical in t~e Patoka River area, because some key wildlife
habitat is interspersed with valuable coal-bearing land mat could
be expensive if the government had to buy it or compensate owners
for coal mat can't be mined.  On the other hand, some of the area's
best wetland habitat is on land that was previously mined and
reclaimed.  Therefore, detailed knowledge of the area's coal
reserves and their value is important for environmental as well as
economic reasons."

"The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act prohibits surface
coal mining in national wildlife refuges, unless the coal owners
have valid existing rights," O'Neal said.  "That makes it advisable
to have a full set of facts on the value of the reserves and the
likelihood of mining, before the refuge is created."

OSM administers national standards requiring environmental
protection during coal mining and land reclamation afterward, and
OSM reclaims abandoned mine lands.   The agency provides support
and oversight for approved State regulatory and reclamation
programs, and directly carries out such activities on Federal and
Indian lands.  OSM was established in the Interior Department under
authority of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of
1977.

The Fish & Wildlife Service manages more than 450 national wildlife
refuges to provide habitat for migratory birds, endangered species,
and other wildlife and wildlife-oriented public recreation.  It
also sets migratory bird hunting regulations, leads national
efforts to protect and restore endangered and threatened species,
and administers federal grants for state fish and wildlife
programs.

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