Abstract
Smelting activities in Anaconda resulted in a persistent aerial plume of contaminants that settled on the landscape, with devastating impacts on upland vegetation. Extensive logging activities to fuel the first smelters, in combination with aerial emissions, have left some upland areas near the continental divide south of Anaconda void of vegetation (including weeds) for nearly 100 years. Gully erosion of impressive scale has transformed the uplands from zones of sediment retention and stability to a network of sediment delivery superhighways. For the last 5 years, the Mt. Haggin Technical Working Group has been studying these impacts and testing remedy and restoration techniques to capture sediment and restore native vegetation to the mostly roadless areas of the Mt. Haggin Wildlife Management Area.
Variations in geologic parent material, slope and aspect, as well as secondary factors such as surface roughness have been assessed to prioritize areas for treatment in the years to come. Intensive soil studies, assessments of the potential to enhance the landscape’s wetland and riparian areas and multiple soil amendment and planting trials have been conducted and hundreds of sediment catchment BMP structures have been installed. Progress in upland sediment retention and vegetation enhancement will be illustrated as well as the challenges of restoring a Montana moonscape.
Start Date
24-4-2015 9:30 AM
End Date
24-4-2015 10:00 AM
Document Type
Presentation
Mitigating Montana Moonscapes around Anaconda
Smelting activities in Anaconda resulted in a persistent aerial plume of contaminants that settled on the landscape, with devastating impacts on upland vegetation. Extensive logging activities to fuel the first smelters, in combination with aerial emissions, have left some upland areas near the continental divide south of Anaconda void of vegetation (including weeds) for nearly 100 years. Gully erosion of impressive scale has transformed the uplands from zones of sediment retention and stability to a network of sediment delivery superhighways. For the last 5 years, the Mt. Haggin Technical Working Group has been studying these impacts and testing remedy and restoration techniques to capture sediment and restore native vegetation to the mostly roadless areas of the Mt. Haggin Wildlife Management Area.
Variations in geologic parent material, slope and aspect, as well as secondary factors such as surface roughness have been assessed to prioritize areas for treatment in the years to come. Intensive soil studies, assessments of the potential to enhance the landscape’s wetland and riparian areas and multiple soil amendment and planting trials have been conducted and hundreds of sediment catchment BMP structures have been installed. Progress in upland sediment retention and vegetation enhancement will be illustrated as well as the challenges of restoring a Montana moonscape.