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.~. . ~~ scan Under the proposal, the steep, handled grade at the nodh end of the quarry would be blasted and rshaped into a gerrtler sbpe / (dottedlinel. /, ~ /-yet'' ,,,, From Metro 1 lives near the quarry. fhte_hitch could be the founda- i tiorfs desire to blast about 10 aches of adjacent U.S. Forest Ser- vi~ land. Reaves said it needs to bereshaped as part of the larger re~tagyation effort. dl'im Grantham, a forester with [ho agency, said that may require time-consuming environmental sttdies. He said the agency wants t '-~ofk with the foundation but ~ .ts to see public support first. Group proposes blasting to help quarry recovery By Todd Hartman FLrteO try Bi Vagm Fkadre by Connie BeoYio the ttaelN Instead oC[heir usual tools of topsoil and trees, a group that re- pairs mining scars wants to use dynamite to repair a large gash iu the foothills in northwest Colo- rado Springs. The Colorado Mountain Recla- mation Foundation wants to blow up a hillside -just as mining companies do -above the Moun- tain Shadows and Peregrine neighborhoods near the south bor- der of the Air Force Academy. The foundation, known for -raising money and rgllying the community to help repair local mining scats, is seeking support from several public agencies as well as neighbors for its plan to blast at the north end of Pikeview Quarty - a working mine owned by Castle Concrete. Why blasting? The slopes at the quarry are steep, making it difficult to lay topsoil and replan[ trees. By blasting the hillside, the slope could be made ~ gentle enough to reclaim, said Wattda Reaves, the foundation's project manager. "These will be 'sculpting' blasts;' Reaves said. "It's short- term pain for long-term gain." Even so, Reaves and other foun- dation supporters are concerned about how [he public may react to the plan. So far, Reaves is un- aware of any opposition, but she's offering tours of the site so neigh- bors understand the project. Neighbors haven't had the smoothest relationship with the quarry. They've complained about the number of trucks driv- ing through the area, dust from the mine and the scars them- selves. "If it's an honorable plan, and can have a positive impact visu- ally ...and there isti t some hid- den agenda, people here would be in favor of anything that would help the scar;' said Kerri Olivier, a member of the Mountain Shad• ows Community Association who Sse Aeclairtt Metro 3 1 gt~rfy's ownerg, Castle Conrcretee What s .nett i [o reclaim [he land. But such laws doD't go far enough to make min- •The Colorado Mountain Reclamation inQ scars disappear. Foundation will present its plan today .Similar mining scars on local before a joint meeting of the Colorado foethil_]s gave rise in 1991 to the Springs City Council and the D Paso fotut a[ion, which is dedicated to irt~roving the aesthetics of the County commission at 11 a.m. The scats above and beyond what meeting is in the Qty Council chambers stye laws require. at the Colorado Springs Qty 7bdd Hartman covers the enuiron- Administration Building, 30 S. Nevada meat and may be reached at Ave. 635 or toddh~azetle.com • Wanda Reaves, project manager for the foundation, is seeking the blessing of city and county elected officials before seeking approval from the U.S. Forest Service and the state Mined Land Reclamation Board. ff any blasting occurs, it wouldnt likely occur until much later in 2000, Reaves said.