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National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association Environmental Eagle
Award”
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The Rockingham Quarry is located in Richmond
County, North Carolina. Products include asphalt aggregate, base
material, concrete aggregate, manufactured sand, railroad ballast, and
rip rap. The Vulcan Materials Company facility has received numerous
awards for its wildlife preservation and environmentally sound
practices, including the 2003 National Stone, Sand & Gravel
Association’s Gold Environmental Eagle Award. The Environmental Eagle
awards program was created in 1992 to provide national recognition for
aggregate producers that meet and exceed technical environmental and
regulatory requirements.
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A six-member Wildlife Committee oversees the management of 450 acres of
the 600-acre facility for wildlife. The different habitat types
represented at the Rockingham Quarry include grassy meadows, woodlands, as
well as natural and constructed wetlands. Employees also maintain 100
acres of buffer habitat that surround quarry activities.
Rockingham employees partnered with local scout troops to help with
installing and monitoring boxes on-site. Currently, there are twelve
bluebird boxes, six bat houses and eight wood duck boxes located
throughout the property. Employees expanded their habitat management
program to include food plots and butterfly gardens. Clover and soybean
were planted in eight food plots to provide additional food and nesting
resources for quail and turkey. The wildflower plot includes sunflower and
coreopsis among other native plants. A number of other habitat enhancement
projects, such as manually thinning densely forested areas to provide
habitat for early-successional species and augment opportunities for
native populations of wildlife.
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Rockingham Quarry Welcome Sign
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Employee volunteers are presently working with local business
owners and scout groups to establish a nature trail on-site. Vulcan
employees, school groups and local residents will use the trail to
learn and discover the natural beauty and diversity of wildlife in
North Carolina. It will also allow visitors to traverse 62 acres of
the property, including viewing points that will highlight habitat
along Hitchcock Creek and a freshwater pond.
Beyond just providing habitat components to help sustain local
wildlife, the employees took steps to demonstrate their commitment
to environmental stewardship. |
Vulcan Materials Company instituted several recycling
programs, such as the recycling of oil, oil filters, antifreeze and freon.
All Vulcan facilities are encouraged to recycle all scrap metal, wood and
rubber products used on-site. Furthermore, the quarry has drainage systems
that were designed to allow for the collection of stormwater, which is
used for processing needs, rather than burdening the municipal water
supply or drilling wells.
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