Using Biotic Soil Amendments to Establish Vegetation in the San Juan Mountains
Learn how biotic soil amendments re-established vegetation in Silverton, Colorado - a retired mining site turned recreational area
Background
Silverton, Colorado is deep in the San Juan Mountains. It hosts thousands of visitors each year looking to embrace the area’s beauty and rich history. In addition to the Durango-Silverton train ride, rugged 4-wheel roads, hiking trails, and other recreational activities, Silverton is known for its historic mining industry. Many of the retired sites, initially mined in the late 1800s, are now being reclaimed to reduce their impact on nearby water and native vegetation.
Challenge
Over the last several years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) identified several high-priority locations to remediate. These include areas above the historic mining town of Animas Forks, such as the Sunbank Meadow and Lewis Lake Waste Dump. Typically, the scope of work includes waste rock and tailings remediation, re-contouring, and lastly, stabilization/revegetation.
In the summer of 2022, the contractor began working with Ferguson Waterworks. Our role was to evaluate and prescribe the best solutions for quicker and more sustainable results. Meanwhile, accommodating complex logistics. For example, the sites were only accessible by rough 4-wheel trails and foot.
Solution
Ferguson Waterworks performed soil testing. Upon analyzing the results, we found concentrations of metals, significantly low pH, and little organic matter.
After the soil composition testing, we began developing a custom set of soil amendments designed to promote and sustain revegetation. Our custom solution included soil conditioners such as fast-acting lime, liquid application of microbiology and soil enhancers, mycorrhizae fungi, humates, as well as biotic soil amendments, and native seed. As a result of our approach, it was unnecessary to transport large quantities of agricultural limestone to the site – which, in fact, was not feasible because the location is extremely remote.
Product Advantages
- Time efficient
- Prevented additional environmental impact
- Enhanced soils with low pH and poor nutrients without importing large quantities of agricultural limestone
- Delivered value engineering economical solutions to establish vegetation in extremely remote locations
Method
Our comprehensive project management started with the planning phase.
As their GSS partner, we assisted with:
- budgeting
- developing solutions
- product recommendations
- logistics planning
- implementation
- on-site support
- monitoring
- evaluation
When it comes to effective in-situ mine reclamation, Ferguson Waterworks has developed many value-engineering solutions. We worked with the contractor to bring in aerial support for this particular client. Then, we air-lifted 32,000 pounds of materials from the valley floor to the high-mountain sites. As a result, we greatly increased time efficiencies and prevented additional environmental impacts. Once the material was onsite, hand tools and small equipment applied the prescribed mixes and seeds.
Our innovative, value-engineered solutions enabled visitors to enjoy a better environment on BLM lands.
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