Bronco Site Reclamation Project Successfully Completed

"The goal was to have the well pad and road blend in with the natural landscape, which comprised two different ecosystems - sagebrush steppe and pinon-juniper woodland," said LM Site Manager Jalena Dayvault. "As livestock and wildlife utilize the land, seed mixes were developed with that in mind, and downed timber was also used to cover the areas."

Throughout the reclamation project, LM collaborated with BLM to determine how the site would be monitored, and helped create the criteria for successful project completion. During the project, interns in the DOE Mentorship for Environmental Scholars program assisted with data collection and report writing. This summer internship program provides underrepresented college students the opportunity to work and gain experience in a variety of environmental roles with DOE.

"This project had a lot of moving parts and has been an ongoing effort from LM for several years," Dayvault said. "We are very happy that the project was completed successfully and will no longer need DOE oversight."

In January, representatives from BLM met with LM, where they reviewed the reclamation status and determined the site no longer needed DOE surface management. The decision was based on reclamation success criteria presented to BLM, corroborated by five years of vegetation monitoring, as well as satisfying stormwater permit requirements.

BLM issued the release of the site at the end of February. The site will continue to be owned and managed by the BLM White River Field Office, but LM will continue to provide record-keeping and responding to stakeholder requests for the site.