INSPEC19729 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

STATE OF COLORGDO RiC ~>Rn D. ~n, free mnr III IIIIIIIIIIIII III DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES 999 D. Monte Pascoe, Executive Director '1~IL\ED L--~\D KECI._a111.aTI0 423 Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203 Tel. (303) 839-3567 David C. Shelton Director August 12, 1981 TO: Jim McArdle FROM: Michael Savage S,avA4t.... SUBJECT: Henderson/Urad Mine and Mill Inspection and Climax Mine Inspection The following are my general impressions and concerns specifically related to vegetation/revegetation and topsoil at the Henderson, Urad, and Climax facilities. Revegeta Lion efforts at the Urad and Henderson mine area appear fairly _, successful when-one-considers the parameters cf cover and productivity. However, since primarily introduced grasses were utilized in the re~:lamation, I would be concerned as to whether the reclamation represents a stable vegetative system capable of sustaining itself over the long run. in the future I would stress the importance of including native species, particularly ones which are indigenous to the specific mine site. The planting of seedlings and tubelings is a commendable effort, however, experimentation with tubelings ~ in other areas has resulted in high mortality. In the salvaging of topsoil with associated contemporaneous replacement, many Colorado coal operators have found large numbers of volunteer shrubs, trees, and fortis enhancing seeding efforts. Diversity of the reclaimed areas is fairly low since the .introduced grasses planted tend to be very aggressive, often excluding natives. Revegeta ti on of the outslopes of the Henderson tailings was poor, illustrating a distinct need for some type of soil or soil substitute. The topsoil which w.ss replaced was not consistent in thickness, thereby forming pockets .in which vegetative success was high, and areas where there was no growth. Revegeta ti on at the Climax mine appeared to have a higher priority than at the Henderson mine and mill. High altitude revegetation experiments and stabiliza- tion efforts on steep road cuts were two areas in which Climaxes efforts were exceptional. The greatest single concern I had was the wholesale wasting of tops~~il. The mineral law does not require the salvaging material other than that which is directly above overburden to be removed, however, I feel the Amax operations are significantly reducing their chances for successful and aesthetically pleasing reclamation by failing to salvage as much topsoil as possible. In high elevations soil genesis may take as long as 100,000 years. To assume that successful vegetative systems may be developed on sludge/wood chips and develop- ment rock is at the least tenuous.