42 Coal People Magazine www.coalpeople.com42

Dave Kuleta, a 48 year-old taxidermist and resident of Shamokin, PA, in the anthracite region, is an avid hunter and fi sherman. For Dave, heaven is fl y fi shing a stream, or hunting birds with his German shorthaired pointers. A short time ago, Dave noticed a marked decline in the grouse population, and was determined to fi nd out why.

His investigation pointed to one obvious fact: the breeding grounds for birds, where eggs could be hatched and chicks raised to maturity in a safe environment, were fast disappearing. The needed tree and plant cover just wasn’t there. His answer was to contact the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for advice and assistance. The DEP came through, and gave Kuleta 4,000 seedlings of crabapple, dogwood and Washington Hawthorne trees.

Kuleta rounded up 35 volunteers from his list of taxidermy clients, found some county property, and started planting trees. Habitat for Wildlife was born.

“Habitat for Wildlife is a group of conservation-oriented people dedicated to

By James Stevens

Habitat for Wildlife: Reclaiming the

land for wildlifeAbove: wildfl owers planted on siteBelow: Dave Kuleta at the Alaska site.

4242 43SEPTEMBER 2006 Safety Issue

restore, protect and enhance abandoned coal lands in the southern anthracite region of Pennsylvania for the benefit of wildlife,” Kuleta said. “ In the last five years we have planted 14,550 seedlings, each type chosen to help feed and shelter wildlife.”

“Our biggest project so far has been what we call ‘The Alaska Project’ because it is on land near the location of the old Alaska breaker near Excelsior. We had a few missteps at the start, but learned from our mistakes.”

Bad weather had a serious effect on the first seedlings, as did an army of field mice from a nearby clover patch. Kuleta’s solution was to hold a fund-raiser, selling colorful T-shirts. The money allowed the purchase of 18” high tubing for each seedling to protect against mice. Roots were also dipped for more protection, and a replanting was done.

Kuleta praised the efforts of volunteers and pointed out that teenagers assigned to community service work helped dig the holes, and local lumber companies, Knoebel’s and Nolan’s donated scrap lumber. The Shamokin Vo-Tec school students cut the lumber into stakes.

“We also changed our planting methods and planted the seedlings in rows about 30 feet apart, with 10 feet between each tree,” Kuleta said. “ This allowed us to have easy access to each tree when it grew larger. The state of New Hampshire sold us Virginia creeper, Foxgrape, Elderberry, and American Hazelnut trees, so we could help feed the wildlife.”

Another improvement for the habitat was the planting of wildflowers and warm season grasses, which are hearty native grasses that produce thick stems and grow as high as 7 feet.

“The high grasses offer protection from aerial predators, but the big benefit happens in winter when it snows. The tall grasses bend under the snowfall and form tunnels for the small animals underneath,” said Kuleta. “The wildflowers are an important part of the food chain. Flowers attract insects, which are all protein and are eaten by birds. The birds thrive and grow rapidly.”

Ultimately, The Alaska Project will cover 1,000 gated acres, all available to the public at no cost for hunting, hiking, bird and wildlife watching. “In the past year,” Kuleta said, “We planted sunflowers, buckwheat and clover. We can now put food pots in between tree rows, and we added two acres of sorghum and two acres of Aspens, perfect for deer and grouse. We built shelters from cuttings to make shelters for rabbits, grouse, foxes and other small animals that need places to hide. And, my favorite, we released 50 quail, which led to the addition of 1,200 more when we saw how well they did. I love to drive out to the Project

Dave, Nate, and Josh Kuleta working on HFW’s gate entrance.

and hear the quail calling to each other. My dogs go crazy chasing and pointing.”

A future project involves a site near Centralia, the location of an underground fire that led to the evacuation of an entire town. Forty acres of wildflowers and warm grasses have been planted for experimental purposes, the lessons learned to be applied for Habitat use.

‘I am pleased at the success we have enjoyed,” Kuleta said. “We are trying to make our area better. The C.O.A.L.S. program has worked in cleaning up our streams, and we are eliminating illegal dumping. Hidden surveillance cameras and prosecution of littering with big fines is paying off. Even those who were skeptical of our plans for a habitat are now on our side. The hunters see what people acting together for the common good can do. We’ve proven the dream.”

For more information, please visit www.habitat4wildlife.org

Top inset: Chinese Chest-nut planted in tree shelter at

the Alaska site.Bottom inset: baby quail

Below: Indigo Bunting

44 Coal People Magazine www.coalpeople.com44

ining accidents can have a traumatic effect on every-one involved in them, as relatives, friends, rescuers and whole communities are left to grieve. Yet some-

times good comes out of tragedy, as revealed in a new York-shire exhibition. Joanne Ginley reports

It was 2.30 a.m. on March 21, 1973, when miners working on the deep South 9B face at Lofthouse Colliery, near Wakefield, heard a loud cracking sound.

An enormous cloud of grey dust propelled by millions of gallons of water rushed toward the men and the scramble for survival began. But no sooner had they reached safety than they were asked to join the miserable search for the missing, many of them friends.

Seven died in the disaster, and among those who spent more than a week searching was Tony Banks, of Kirkhamgate, near Wakefield. He knew all the missing men.“It was very hard because you were in conditions with water up to your neck and sludge,” Banks recalled.

“In the back of your mind you knew that you were not going to get these people out, you knew that when you saw the condi-tions.

“When you came out of the pit you could see the families in the canteen and you knew in the back of your mind that you weren’t going to get these men out.”

Yesterday Banks, a miner for 38 years before he retired from Selby Colliery in 1995, was at the National Coal Mining Mu-seum, near Wakefield, at the opening of its Witness: Disaster, Rescue and Recovery exhibition.

It uses first-hand accounts and witness testimonies from sev-eral disasters to give visitors an insight into how accidents and disasters have influenced technology and legislation.

Tracey Bradley, curator of social history, said: “We wanted to look at disasters because they have such an impact on the community.

“It’s a very serious, emotional topic, but we want people to go away with a message of hope. Mining is a dangerous activity, but there are people out there willing to rescue people.”

Coal mining has always been a dangerous activity. Its history has been filled with death and disaster but Bradley also hopes the exhibition highlights acts of great courage, and hope in ad-versity.

News that 26 children had been killed following flooding at Hus-kar Colliery, Silkstone, Barnsley, on July 4 1838, was greeted by outrage. Most of those working underground were under 12 and the public was shocked that such young children were working on the coalface.

It influenced the 1842 Mines and Collieries Act, which banned boys under 10 and females of all ages from working under-ground.

In 1862, at Hartley Colliery, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 204 perished when a beam from the pumping engine broke and fell down the shaft, leaving miners trapped below. Afterward new mines had two shafts, so there was an escape route.

The Lofthouse disaster resulted in rescue teams being trained in underwater rescue. The eyes of the world looked on as res-cue teams went in day after day looking for survivors.

Seven men did not survive and only one body was recovered. There were six widows and 22 or-phans.

Banks says the disaster continues to live with him and others involved in the rescue, as the pits employed whole communities and often son followed father into the industry. He still lays flowers on a memorial to the men every year.

“Courtesy of the Yorkshire Post”

A Message of Hope in the Grim Toll ofMining Accidents

By Tony Banks

M