Minor in Sustainable Land Reclamation Management

Minor Overview

_{Left figure shows the New Hill Mine during mining. Middle figure shows the WVU students on coal mine field trip. Right figure shows the New Hill Mine after reclamation. All three photos are provided by Dr. Jeff Skousen.}

The minor in land reclamation will offer an integrated set of required and elective courses, introduce students to fundamental concepts, provide depth in specific fields of interest, gain laboratory and field experiences, closely interact with industry stakeholders and professionals, and set the stage for further work in the field. The aim of this minor is to advance an education program focusing on land reclamation in Central Appalachia. Due to agricultural, forest practices and energy production in Central Appalachia, many areas have been highly impacted. The northeastern U.S. contains approximately 1.25 million acres of disturbed lands. Specifically, Pennsylvania has more than 34,000 disturbed sites that need to be reclaimed, which total 250,000 acres; West Virginia has about half million acres needing reclamation; Ohio has about 200,000 impacted acres, and Maryland to a lesser extent has about 1000 disturbed sites. Because these sites have significant environmental problems, many activities cannot be performed in those areas, which in turn decreases employment opportunities in the region. Combining this new, unique minor with a student's major in fields in the Environmental, Social, and Natural Sciences will create students with the kinds of cross­-disciplinary training to successfully lead in the land reclamation fields.

 

After completing the minor program, you’ll be able to:

(1) possess a fundamental background in preparatory and general education in compliance with the requirements established by West Virginia University;

(2) acquire a firm foundation of knowledge and skills in land reclamation to understand the land use and reclamation opportunities;

(3) understand and solve the contemporary and multidisciplinary issues of land reclamation by combining reclamation principles with environmental sciences, social sciences, and natural sciences;

(4) meet employment needs in regional and national industries to mitigate the lack of the specialized workforce in the field;

(5) demonstrate competence in an area of professional emphasis in land reclamation that complements their major program degrees.