 Each year the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining selects outstanding projects and presents National Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards. This work eliminates health and safety hazards from mines abandoned before 1977. This year there are three regional, one national, and one People's Choice Award. 1952 to 1973, the Island Creek Coal Company deposited more than 7 million tons of refuse from their preparation facility into a hollow known as Spewing Camp Branch. The refuse pile was almost a half mile long, a thousand feet across, and up to 165 feet deep. The site was abandoned in 1981 and there were overwhelming erosion problems. There was frequent downstream flooding and streams were polluted with acid mine drainage. Reclamation began in October 2002. Cover material from adjacent areas and two nearby projects was spread to a depth of two feet. Benches were cut into the fill at 30-foot vertical intervals and side drains were constructed. After almost two years and $3.5 million, the aesthetic flight and safety hazards have been eliminated. The Sugar Ridge Fish and Wildlife Area includes over 8,000 acres of mostly reclaimed surface mine land. Reclamation involved consolidating and burying the coal refuse. The drainage was redirected through constructed channels and pit bottoms were covered. Passive treatment and wildlife wetlands were built and all disturbed areas were revegetated. An abandoned mine land area has been restored, the land is productive, the water quality improved, and a useful public area has been created. This Colorado project was done in cooperation with Mesa State College. It provided educational outreach and reclamation design and implementation and was accomplished for a substantially reduced cost. Five students completed a real-world project from site inventory through final closure of the abandoned mine openings. Four hazardous uranium mine openings were sealed, three of them with bat gates while maintaining the historical character of the sites. Not only have dangerous mine openings been closed, but five college students are now experienced with real-world abandoned mine land reclamation. Congratulations to everyone involved with these award-winning projects. These contractors, engineers, reclamation specialists, professors, and students are setting standards of environmental excellence for the future.