Photo GALLERY

Description: Mine waste from historic mine districts near Leadville, Colorado released contaminated sediments and mine waste with elevated metals and in particular lead and zinc.  Agricultural field downstream have been impacted resulting in large areas of barren land or sparse vegetation.  Depressed soil pH is treated by application of lime which is tilled into the soil in the contaminated zone.  Careful amendment selection and calibration is required.  Organic amendment is subsequently added followed by seeding and mulching. Credit: Stuart Jennings

Description: Chlorotic vegetation is seen in this agricultural field near Montana's Clark Fork River basin where mine waste have been washed downstream by flood events and deposited on agricultural land either by overbank flooding or through irrigation ditches.  Elevated levels of copper and zinc interfere with photosynthesis causing tissue discoloration and stressed vegetation.  Plant responses to elevated metals are complex and range from severe phytotoxicity to inhibition of sensitive species. Credit: Stuart Jennings

Description: Remedial of Milltown Reservoir is underway at the confluence of Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers in Western Montana.  A dam was built across the Clark Fork River in 1906 and substantially filled with sediment after a 1908 flood bring mine waste from the historic mine districts of Butte, Montana nearly 100 miles downstream.  A plume of arsenic laden groundwater caused by the contaminated sediments triggered cleanup under the Superfund program to protect drinking water supplies in the nearby community.  The historic dam has been removed and several million cubic yards of sediment removed.  Reclamation Research Group has assisted in floodplain reconstruction through contamination delineation and borrow soil mapping. Credit: Stuart Jennings

Description: Native plants collected from micro-cutting are evaluated in contaminated soils at Westscape Nursery in collaboration with SMK Plants.  Small tissue samples were collected from plants growing in severe environments contaminated with metals and compounded by low soil pH.  These plants were grown in sterile culture, rooted in potting soil and transplanted back into inhospitable soils to compare the genetic adaptation of site-collected plant materials to plants grown from commercially available seed. Credit: Stuart Jennings