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Wyo Ben Inc. out of Greybull, Wyoming, was the
recipient of the 1999 Wyoming Game and Fish Department Mine
Reclamation and Wildlife Stewardship Award. The award is presented
to a mining company that goes the "extra mile" to reclaim
mined land for fish and wildlife habitat. The criteria include the
contribution of stewardship to maintain, restore, or enhance
wildlife or fish populations or habitat. Also included is the
cooperative nature of the stewardship efforts, the extent to which
the efforts were "above and beyond" normal regulatory
requirements, the quality of the nomination package, and includes a
field evaluation.
Wyo Ben has been mining bentonite in the Big Horn
Basin for over 40 years. They have continually been leaders in
reclamation practices in the industry, and their techniques have all
been extremely innovative and original.
The area receiving this award was mined in 1984.
It was reclaimed by 1987 and included an 11.7-acre-foot reservoir
covering 40 acres. The reservoir drains three ephemeral drainages
and is designed to hold runoff from a two-year, six-hour event
before discharging into the overflow channel. Periodic flushing
helps to maintain water quality, thereby supporting a variety of
wildlife species. Mallards, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, and
blackbilled magpies all frequent the reservoir. Other species that
have been observed include desert cotton-tail, prairie rattlesnake,
bullsnake, lizards, coyote, turkey vulture, marsh hawk, eastern and
western kingbirds, golden eagle, teal, and other native nongame
birds.
Because of the stable shoreline, vegetation has
had an opportunity to become established as well as many small
cottonwood trees. Wyo Ben has continued to monitor and maintain the
reservoir. The reclamation efforts represent a first class example
of restoring mined land to a beneficial use.
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