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Section 3.0: Drainageway reconstruction and repairs at Trapper Mine in 1987 <br />Permanent drainageway construction and subsequent control of excessive gully <br />formation is important to successful vegetation recovery on disturbed mined land. <br />The discharge of flows during snow melt and rain storms into newly established <br />waterways may result in excessive gully formation without adequate control <br />measures. Excessive gullies is associated with accelerated erosion and therefore <br />with landscape instability. Recognizing this problem, Trapper Mine initiated an <br />ambitious erosion control program in an attempt to reduce and/or eliminate <br />excessive gully formation in reestablished drainageways. <br />Section 3.1: Drainage Reconstruction in 1987 <br />Portions of four major drainageways were regraded and appropriately treated to <br />reduce the erosion rate and assist in permanent gully stabilization in 1987. <br />Erosion control techniques were applied in Coyote, East No-Name, West No-Name and <br />Johnson Gulch drainages and included 23,050 feet of permanent drainageway <br />treatments. (See the enclosed map 3-1, "Drainage Reconstruction" for approximate <br />locations of treated drainageways in 1987). A wide variety of erosion control <br />materials and methods were used in each drainageway warranting a separate <br />discussion for each. Table 3-1 lists the linear amounts of drainage treated in <br />each of the four watersheds. <br />Coyote <br />Approximately 13,000 feet of drainage was reconstructed and adequately treated in ~ <br />1987. Nine thousand-one hundred feet were regraded and topsoiled to a depth of v <br />approximately 6 inches. Following topsoiling, erosion control structures (hay <br />bales, rock and vegetation) were keyed in at approximately 12.5-ft to 50-ft <br />intervals in the drainage channel. All rock structures were installed using an <br />appropriate cloth lining. Approximately 350 hay bale structures, 350 vegetation <br />structures (native willow bundles) and 50 rock structures were constructed. <br />Additionally, a 400 foot segment was treated with geoweb soil confinement <br />material (4" and 8") to protect a critical area in the drainageway. All areas <br />were drill seeded with an appropriate perennial seed mix for long term vegetation <br />establishment. A sterile, hybrid perennial grass, drilled at a rate of 20dk/acre, <br />was also used as a cover crop to establish a short term vegetation cover. The <br />drainage channel and associated side slopes were mulched at a rate of 1500ik/acre <br />using a grass-forb hay mix as residue. Following mulching, landglas erosion <br />control fiber was applied (.35i)/yd2) and tacked using an emulsified asphalt <br />solution (.35 gal/yd2) to stabilize and trap sediment on the soil surface. <br />Additional erosion control in Coyote drainage included seeding of rills and small <br />gullies on adjacent reclaim areas, and the placement of hay bales in an adjoining <br />tributary (west of the major drainage -3900') to reduce the erosion potential and <br />increase vegetation cover. Rock armoring was installed downstream of several <br />eroding hay bale structures providing an apron to eliminate future cutting <br />associated with light ephemeral flows and pit de-watering. Several <br />