Cleaning up the coal piles at Gunsight Road this summer

Helicopters an issue?

Work to improve the area at the intersection of the Slate River and Gunsight Roads will commence this August. The idea is to clean up the coal piles from the old Smith Hill mine and restore the wetlands. The work will likely involve some helicopter flights, and that is giving some people heartburn.

The Crested Butte Town Council listened to a presentation on Monday, April 18 from Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) project manager Tara Tafi and Ann Johnston of the Crested Butte Land Trust. The basic idea is to pull out some of the coal that has been lying on the ground for more than a century just north of the Gunsight Road. That area had originally been a rail turnaround for trains that hauled coal from the mine. The project will result in about two acres of restored wetlands. The Land Trust owns this parcel.
After the coal piles are moved, reclamation of wetlands will begin. Stabilization of the steep hill below the old mine on Smith Hill will also be performed since coal on the hill continues to slide down to Slate River Road. It is that work that could involve a couple of days of helicopter work.
“The helicopters are needed, given how steep that hillside is,” explained Tafi. “They will be staged right there and won’t be used much but there could be several flights over a couple of days. There’s just no way we could get the things we need up there any other way.”
Tafi estimated that about 5,000 cubic yards of coal would be moved before wetland re-vegetation is started. The coal will remain in the area but consolidated. The banks of the Slate River will also be stabilized in spots.
“I am concerned with the helicopters,” said resident Margot Levy. “I am concerned with the precedent that might be set. To me, it is an acknowledgment that the Land Trust is saying helicopters are okay but the community has recently voiced that helicopters are not okay in that area with the Mt. Emmons baseline study proposal. Helicopters have such a bad taste to me. Can you look at a work crew or using mules to get the needed equipment in there?”
“The footwork up there would be very dangerous and prohibitively expensive,” responded Tafi.
“The hillside is so steep that it is too steep for heavy equipment. The helicopter is really the safest option.
“It is unfortunate the helicopter issue is coming at the same time as the Mt. Emmons baseline studies issue,” Tafi continued, “but it will be minimal—a few drops over a few days. We really understand the sensitivity of the issue and have considered other alternatives.”
“I understand your concern,” added Johnston. “We have looked at a number of other options but the situation was such that this made the most sense. Making that hillside stable is an important part of the project to keep the coal from coming down the hill, which it still is.”
Tafi said the benefits of the project include increasing wetlands, restoring hydrology, making the old mine site more stable and making the whole area more aesthetically pleasing. She said the crew would be putting out a call to volunteers to help pull weeds and plant willows. The crew will provide weekly tours of the site during the project and hope to have informational plaques erected when the project is completed.
“Things will look worse before they look better,” Tafi admitted. “Reclamation is not instantaneous but it will look great three or four or five years from now.”
It is believed that 1.3 million tons of anthracite coal came out of the mine between 1884 and 1929. A small community, Cloud City, was established up on Smith Hill and more than 8,000 artifacts have been documented on the site.
The cost of the project is estimated to be between $250,000 and $300,000. Councilperson John Wirsing asked if the coal that will be moved could be hauled away and sold. Tafi said that would be cost-prohibitive and if the coal were sold, a mining permit would be needed.
The work will start in early August and be completed in October.