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Information for Conference Attendees Conservation Development Green Roof Rain Garden Alternative Stormwater Management Prairie and Savanna Restoration Natural Resource Planning Streambank and Shoreline Restoration Wetland Restoration and Mitigation Mine, Quarry and Landfill Reclamation Watershed Studies Ecological Management Parks, Forest Preserves and Greenways Grant Program   Applied Ecological Services, Inc. Wisconsin Office 17921 Smith Road, P. O. Box 256 Brodhead, WI 53520 Phone: 608.897.8641 Voicemail: 608.897.4898 AES Fax: 608.897.8486 TCRN Fax: 608.897.2044 Info@AppliedEco.com Illinois Office 120 West Main St W. Dundee, IL 60118 Phone: 847.844.9385 Fax: 847.844.8759 Info.il@AppliedEco.com Kansas City Office 701 E. 22nd Street Lawrence, KS 66046 Phone 785.842.3300 Fax 785.842.3313 Info.ks@AppliedEco.com Minnesota Office 21938 Mushtown Rd Prior Lake, MN 55372 Phone: 952.447.1919 Fax: 952.447.1920 Info.mn@AppliedEco.com East Coast Office 1100 E. Hector Street Suite #398 Conshohocken, PA 19428 Phone: 610.238.9088 Info.pa@AppliedEco.com

Mine Reclamation Flambeau copper mine becomes golden opportunity for ecologists In 1986, when Tom Hunt, Ph.D., was a restoration ecologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, he became a member of the mining permit application review team for the Flambeau Copper Mine near Ladysmith, Wisconsin. After backfilling of the 34-acre open pit mine (top) was complete, AES designed and planted ten different plant communities, ranging from wetlands to savannas, on the 180- acre Flambeau mine site. We designed stormwater drainage with biofiltration benefits to protect the quality of water prior to being released into the Flambeau River. The bottom two images show an aerial photo of the revegitated site taken last fall, and a ground-level photo taken this summer of wetlands and wet prairie communities established on the former mine. A decade later, Hunt's work came full circle when he returned to the mine as an AES ecologist _ this time, to begin active surface reclamation of the Flambeau Mine site. The regulations he helped establish were now the standards he and the rest of us at AES were expected to meet in revegetating natural communities on the 180-acre site. "I wore different shoes back then. Now, my work has come back to haunt me," laughed Hunt, who recently accepted a professorship at the Univeristy of Wisconsin-Platteville. "When I was with the DNR, I was involved in negotiating the design, monitoring requirements and permit approval for the Flambeau Mine. The monitoring requirements were one of the things our team worked very hard on; and while the results were not perfect, they were far improved over anything that existed before," said Hunt, who today serves on the Wisconsin state Technical Advisory Committee for Non-Metallic Mining Regulations. AES began review of Flambeau Mining Company's surface reclamation plan in 1997. Thirty years earlier, in the 1960s, prospectors had struck gold (literally) along with copper at Flambeau, eventually making it one of the richest mines of its size. The small mine was mined out very rapidly, leading to its mineral depletion and eventual shutdown of operations in 1997. Nationwide, few open pit mines are actually filled back in. But in the case of this particular mine, as part of its approved reclamation plan, Flambeau Mining Company stockpiled and backfilled materials that had been removed during the mining process. A shining example of successful reclamation Prior to mining activities, the mine site primarily contained old fields and woodland patches. Using ecological landscape design, our AES team was challenged with the task of transforming the mine site into an ecological and financial asset for the local community. The goals of the design were to restore the mine site into a natural landscape with plant communities native to the area, to provide a high quality wildlife habitat, and to accommodate the stormwater drainage needs of the site. "As mine reclamation projects go, this one is small; but it is unique because the mining company really took advantage of the opportunity to recreate something special," Hunt said. "We basically had the freedom to do what we wanted here, as long as we followed the spirit and letter of the law and some very stringent requirements. We are looking at a complete ecological system in the sense that we're putting back habitat types, wildlife, future use, and all of that. So it is really environmentally encompassing." We developed surface grading and planting plans to handle site drainage and restore 10 different plant communities to the site. Communities ranging from wetlands to upland prairies and savanna were planted in phases beginning in 1998. Additional plantings are being completed this year. Great care and attention were given to the placement of tree and plant community boundaries, to the stability of the soil surface, and also to aesthetics as recreational trails and signage will be added throughout the site. Local school children also got involved in the project. Last year, students from the nearby Flambeau High School grew thousands of plugs from seed they collected locally under our direction, and then came out on the site with us to plant them. "What strikes me about the project site is its beauty," said AES founder and ecologist Steven Apfelbaum, who has also worked closely with the Flambeau project. "Very graceful land forms, and vegetation systems are starting to look special already, and the wetland systems were spectacular the first year they were created." | Home | Services | GIS Services | Native Landscape Design | Staff | Projects | | Taylor Creek | Spring Lake | Kaw River | Copyright 2008 Applied Ecological Services, Inc. - All Rights Reserved Website Design - Computer Know How