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Employees of PacifiCorp subsidiary Glenrock Coal Company restored 4600 acres of land mined for more than 40 years to its original state, completing reclamation of the Dave Johnston Mine in Wyoming in 2005.
About 104,000,000 tons of coal was mined at the between 1958 and 2000.
Reclamation activities included backfilling of existing highwalls, seeding of plants and shrubs for the habitat of local wildlife and construction of six manâ€Âmade springs to support the restored ecosystem.
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality land quality division permit coordinator Jonathan Stauffer said the award was well-deserved.
“The Dave Johnston Mine and their lead reclamation scientist, Chet Skilbred, have a history of regularly going the extra mile to solve technical restoration challenges; particularly related to the development of specific methodologies for reestablishment of native shrub species and the installation of innovative reclamation elements that enhance wildlife habitat,” he said.
DJM’s approach to the reclamation process continued to be a model of industry cooperation and innovation that yields the efficient return of mined land to a condition that will be productive for future land uses, Stauffer said.
In addition to the restoration of the previous mine, an alternative beneficial use of the land was achieved by constructing 158 wind turbines.
