1987-03-03_REPORT - M1977493 - Laserfiche WebLink

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e . M '4 Irrigation assures seed germination first season _ Irrigation is used to ensure germination and estab- lishment of vegetation during the first season. Thereafter, vegetation is normally well enough established to main- }' tain its own water relations. Other reclamation activities are the more conventional reclamation of roads, borrow areas, mine yard and faces l ailirr s sra,fuc c after one�>ru�ring scusorr. The rood shin ics of the reservoir dams. Most of the mine and mill buildings provide protec tion to Fngehnann spruce f-oni sun in the sunrnre'r are also being removed. and wind in winter Vegetation is basically trees and grass. Dr. Robin Cuany of the Agronomy Department at Colorado State University began research in 1974 to develop better seed �`' . . for high-altitude revegetation projects. Adaptable strains of various species will be identified and crossed. No seed has been produced as yet because breeding projects are long-range programs.(Amax recently sponsored the prep- aration of a Bibliography Pertinent to Disturbance and Rehabilitation of Alpine and Subalpine Lands in the Southern Rocky Mountains by Drs. Ordell Steen and Wil- liam Berg. Copies are available through the Environmen- tal Resources Center, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Co. 80523.) i I� T4 ill � li(� ii III Shrub adequacy a source of concern Some shrubs are transplanted from the surrounding area but an adequate supply is a continuing source of con- Hydro,nulched road cut after third season tern because high-altitude ecotypes are not commercially available. Efforts are being made on site to root cuttings maintained through the years with inorganic fertilizers, of various shrubs in a greenhouse environment for spring should provide a soil of sufficient maturity to sustain veg- planting. etation within 15 to 20 years. The only two commercially available native tree spe- Said another way, it will probably be around 1996 be- ties are lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce. Aspen are fore the Urad reclamation project is complete. The year being transplanted from nearby avalanche runs. Since the 1996 is a long way off. Actually, the reclamation project rock is essentially sterile, tree seedlings planted in the at Urad should be essentially complete by 1982. The only rock lack the symbiotic association of mycorrhizal fungi requirement from 1983 to perhaps 1996 will be yearly normally found in soil. Amax recently funded a three- maintenance inorganic fertilization. It is difficult to pre- year research program to investigate the potential of my- dict the time required to build a sufficient,store of nutri- corrhizal innoculated conifers on mine wastes. The prin- ents in the soil (rock) to sustain vegetation without fertil- cipal investigator is Dr. C. P. P. Reid, Department of ization. Forest and Wood Sciences, Colorado State University. The sequence of revegetating the tailing areas is: The grass-seed mixture was developed from previous 1) Cover with development rock company-sponsored research. It includes smooth brome, 2) Landscape with rock (small hills to break the flat timothy, meadow foxtail, creeping foxtail, orchard grass, contour) red top, red fescue, hard fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and 3) Haul and stockpile sewage and wood chips white clover. This mixture is broadcast at 33 lb per acre 4) Spread P,O; fertilizer and wood chips with an additional 7 lb per acre of balbo rye thrown in as a 5) Rip wood chips and fertilizer into the surface (by nurse crop. dozer) The stated cost of the Urad project varies with the way 6) Spread sewage sludge (manure spreader) each individual views it. For example, the cost of hauling 7) Scatter logs(dead timber)from adjacent areas onto rock waste from the Henderson mine will be about$2 mil- the surface lion. The rock is being used for reclamation at Urad, but 8) Plant trees and shrubs (transplants and seedlings) it is also fulfilling the purpose of disposing of it for Hen- 9) Seed with grass derson. Including the rock haul and$2.5 million set aside 10) Irrigate for possible additional flood-control measures, the total 11) Replant failures in future years cost of reclaiming the Urad mine site is anticipated to be 12) Maintenance fertilize with inorganic fertilizers $8 million.