. An analysis of Pennsylvania's forest resources. Forests and forestry Pennsylvania; Forest management Pennsylvania. million tons produced in 1977 (Fig. 26). No doubt, this level will be sur- passed in the 1980's as the Nation uses more coal to meet its energy needs and as mining technology ad- vances. Of the 25 counties with ac- tive strip mines in 1979, 5 accounted for 29 million tons or 64 percent of the strip-mining production. They are Clearfield, Clarion, Somerset, Cam- bria, and Jefferson. In 1978, Pennsyl- vania led the Nation in acres mined with 16,283( Dep. Energy 1980). Although
. An analysis of Pennsylvania's forest resources. Forests and forestry Pennsylvania; Forest management Pennsylvania. million tons produced in 1977 (Fig. 26). No doubt, this level will be sur- passed in the 1980's as the Nation uses more coal to meet its energy needs and as mining technology ad- vances. Of the 25 counties with ac- tive strip mines in 1979, 5 accounted for 29 million tons or 64 percent of the strip-mining production. They are Clearfield, Clarion, Somerset, Cam- bria, and Jefferson. In 1978, Pennsyl- vania led the Nation in acres mined with 16,283( Dep. Energy 1980). Although the forest resources are most affected by surface mining, significant production still comes from underground mining, which also affects the forests. Areas of major 50 impact are mine openings, storage points, waste dumps, and haul roads. Besides removing small areas from timber production, deep mining can create larger problems for the forest such as soil erosion, acid stream pol- lution, subsidence, and burning ref- use banks. Pennsylvania's Operation Scarlift has corrected some of these problems on abandoned mines, but much work remains. Despite these problems, surface mining has a greater impact on the state's forest resources and warrants the most at- tention. The bituminous fields are cov- ered by million acres of commer- cial forest land, 36 percent of the state's total. While not all of this overlies coal seams that can be ex- tracted by stripping, the potential for surface disturbance is great. Mining technology is continually improving, and even now old strip mines are be- ing dug out again as miners go for deeper seams, which were economi- cally unavailable before the advent of huge earthmoving machines and highercoal prices. Before 1945, when Pennsylvania became the first state to institute a mine reclamation program, little or no attempt was made to establish vegetation on strip-mined areas. While this left many areas scarred and barren, the effects could have
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