reclaimation of placer claim. sources for plants

[seafox]

working up in idaho on hill side away from the creek and thew stats from whom it is leased wants it to be reclimated when we are done. it has given list of plants wanted but my boss. says very hard to find. have any of you had experience wild land seeding? getting back bond? ( from what I read if you are planting trees or schrubs they want to wait couple years to see if they take} have anyone worked with state lands people on planting fast growing trees. our problem is we have mined about as far as we can up to existing trees. most are about 40 or 35 years from comercial harvest. seems to meif they let us buy the trees now it would be worth it and them I could plant trees that would be ready to harvest in less than the trees there now but since claims are not mine I have not dared ask. thankyou for any help and ideas

 

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[Underburden]

If the existing trees are 40 years away from harvest then they must be near seedlings right now and you want to plant a species that will be ready for harvest sooner? The only non native species that would fit your needs is an ugly poplar tree with no commercial value. Good luck. What did the claim owner (lessor) list as acceptable plants that your boss claims are so very hard to find? The best time to figure this out was BEFORE your Boss signed the lease.

 

[seafox]

the lease is many decades old its just that goverment adds new requirement all the time. sometimes seems like they don't want you to mine even though they get a percentage. the ttrees are mostly around 12 inches dbh. I plan to scale them this year. their are about 12 in the way guess current value about 20 each. did talk to fed forest service and they say they never let miners touch trees. yet you see pipe lines put in cutting for hundereds of miles acrost the countryside including groves of trees and you know their must be a standard for value. The land is also part of a grazing lease and the plants they want ared native forbes and grasses. understand worry about erosion and getting soil into stream and we are lucky as we put no mud into stream but we are mining such a small area we havn't done any reclimation yet and think they got mad at us. problem is the area we have disturbed is practly speaking our road and space to turn a little tractor around

 

[Clay Diggins]

You have a reserved right to use the trees on the claim as timber for mining. It would be a good idea to get a better grasp on your rights as a miner before you listen to the blowhard that told you "they never let miners touch trees".

As far as reclamation trees are the easiest part. Before you bulldoze the tree clone it. Cloning of trees is easy and is the main source of trees in a plant nursery. "Heel in" the tree clones on the claim once they have rooted properly and transplant them back where their donors came from when you have recontoured.

Simple and cheap the original tree genetic "sisters" are planted right back where they were cloned from. Even the lying Forest Service monkey you've been talking to couldn't come up with a reasonable objection to that plan. If he's still confused mention that it's considered "best practice" mining reclamation. Might as well educate him while he's busy making up imaginary laws in that swollen head.

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

woozle poof!

double post.

 

[winners58]

so its an original or amended mining plan with new conditions, bonding? usually have reclamation milestones to achieve.
just getting started is better than not showing any progress, recontour, level out some areas get some approved seed mix growing.
get trees or root stock through BLM or FS build a shaded bedding area to keep them in, once they get sturdy, plant them as needed.

don't think anyone can give definite answers without actually seeing the mining and reclamation plans.
If you want someone to look at them and give an idea of the best way to go, I would suggest joining EOMA Eastern Oregon Mining Association
then contact Jan or Ken Alexander they will help, Jan is really good at that stuff have to contact them before mining season starts though.
EOMA has members in several states its only $35 you can join online or find the address in their newsletters: Eastern Oregon Mining Association News
they can also help with what the approved ground cover seed mix is.

there are also commercial native seed company's.
https://www.google.com/search?q=idaho+native+seed+companies&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

you can get native plant info here if its needed;
https://esis.sc.egov.usda.gov/Default.aspx
(Ecological Site Information System user guide is in .doc text format)
user guide; https://esis.sc.egov.usda.gov/Welcome/files/ESIS User Guide.doc

 

[Goldwasher]

its happening again

 

[standard8]

Well since you are working in Idaho I would guess that a few sacks of seed potatoes scattered about would do it.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Friends tell me that down in northern Nevada all you have to do is how them receipt for the purchase of enough grass seed to cover the ground, and you're golden (no pun intended).
Jim

 

[seafox]

its happening again

whats happening again? thankyou for the sugestions everyone. I will follow your links Winner58. yes before their was a state bond program we axcessed for a small fee, but after the first two yeatrs thewy said we no longer qualified and required a cash bond. one of the requirements is that we are to not mine at slopes greater than 45 degrees ( reclimation is at 20 degrees) but that way we can't reach bedrock in areas between the trees.

 

[seafox]

You have a reserved right to use the trees on the claim as timber for mining. It would be a good idea to get a better grasp on your rights as a miner before you listen to the blowhard that told you "they never let miners touch trees".

As far as reclamation trees are the easiest part. Before you bulldoze the tree clone it. Cloning of trees is easy and is the main source of trees in a plant nursery. "Heel in" the tree clones on the claim once they have rooted properly and transplant them back where their donors came from when you have recontoured.

Simple and cheap the original tree genetic "sisters" are planted right back where they were cloned from. Even the lying Forest Service monkey you've been talking to couldn't come up with a reasonable objection to that plan. If he's still confused mention that it's considered "best practice" mining reclamation. Might as well educate him while he's busy making up imaginary laws in that swollen head.

Heavy Pans

Clay diggings I havn't heard of tree cloning with pines. the irony is that areas where we backfilled in 2016 were covered with dozens of pine seedlings when we came back in july of 2017

 

[seafox]

looking on google map the area we have disturbed is less than 50 by 50 feet and if we had reclaimed it we would have to trample the reclaimed area to mine where we left off

 

[Goldwasher]

oh man

 

[winners58]

sounds like you are making it out to be harder than it really is, luckily it's spelled out for you in state code
coincidentally it's called best management practices, look on page 15, IDAPA 20.03.01 in Section 040
as far as bonding you only get your bond back when you cease operations / relinquish the lease.
or complete portions of what is in your reclamation plan. looks like they want rooted plants (trees) to have two seasons.
kinda hard for me to wrap my mind around someone not knowing what they are getting into before signing a contract. JMHO