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42 FENCt3 POST October 2, 1989 '' ~ ~ Strip mining By R Surface mining has changed its image. Surface mining to many people means rock piles, open acid pits, and barren landscape. To one Northwest Colorado livestock producer it means lush pastures and fat calves. Today surface-mined coal lands are better for livestock p-nduc- tion than pre-mined native pasture. Regraded and revegatated mined lands are replacing the old strip mine image with high quality range. SPECIAL PRICES ON BINS Q BUILDINGS NOW IN EFFECT GENERAL CONTRACTORS • Commercial • Agricultural • Industrial • -. Specializing in: SALES & CONSTRUCTION Garages to Indoor Arenas, no building too small or largel All your grain storage needs: ~ (Grain Cleaners, Sukup Fans, Augers) Bulk Feed Tanks to Major Grain Fadl~4er.l C~ • Post Frame Bulldings '~;;, • York Steel/Wood Bulldings • York Grain BlnslGraln Handling Equipment • VP Steel Bulldings • Feedlot & Dairy Construction • All Types Concrete Work CHECK OUR MONTHLY SPECIALS!! Get the best of both Buldings & Bins Ron Erbes (303) 356-7144 Tom LeFever (303) 842-3247 - and cattle raising , oy A. Kazo Peabody Coal Co. operates the Seneca Mine seven miles southeast of Hayden, CO. The mine is situated in a mountain shrub ecotype with the dominate species be- ing scrub oak and sagebrush. Throughoutthe mining area, scattered stands of aspen exist, making ideal high mountain pasture. Before any mining, the topsoil is removed and stockpiled. As mining progresses and Peabody regrades the land, the practice of live handling topsoil is used almost exclusively. (Live handled topsoil is piked upon one side of the open pit ahead of mining and replaced directly on graded spoil on the opposite side of the pit. This gives the native seed a good chance of survival.) The slopes are left rolling and all drainages are replaced to approximate original contour. Seneca's reclamation program utilizes native plant species for revegetation. The reclamation pastures have a higher percentage of palatable grass and fortis. Weed control is practiced over the entire mine permit. Brush and trees are replanted on the reclaimed land in clumps to provide thickets for shade and wildlife habitat. The result is a pasture that is suitable for both livestock and wildlife.. ,~ • y , ,. Deer and elk favor the reclaimed slopes for both winter and summer grazing. Hunting is limited to the land outside the mine's permit. Each morning of hunt- ing season dawns with blaze orange dotting the fence line between the mine reclamation and the surrounding scrub oak. Success rates are high for the private hunting leases across the fence. Studies of Peabody Coal Co. Seneca Mine near Hayden, in 1966, show an annual production of 1600 to 3000 oven-dry pounds per acre on reclaimed sites. Native pastures with the same climate and aspect pro- duced 500 to 1200 lbs. per acre. The summer of 1988 was dry in Routt county. High Oak brush and sagebrush rangeland before mining. (May photo) Mining in progress.