The Mining Years [in Cottonwood Wash, UT]
Cottonwood Wash (and the loser is…)
The OSM Western Regional award in 2008 was awarded to: Utah, for a reclamation project In Cottonwood Wash they did over 5 years ago…. IF they asked mining historians about this nomination, they would have gotten a different response: GLS on Cottonwood Wash
Never again will Cottonwood ring with the sights and sounds and smells of a bustling mining camp. Very soon, even the visual reminders of those great days may well be gone, victims of a litigious society, in which individuals dream of suing the government for any real or imagined injury sustained on the public domain.
An archeologically rich area inhabited for three thousand years and extensively mined for vanadium and uranium in the 20th century, this site was littered with radioactive waste and open mines that threatened public safety. At Cottonwood Wash, cooperative partnering between agencies maximized both funding and expertise to reclaim 264 acres and bring the land back to productive use. Seventy-three miles of mine exploration roads have been reclaimed, 213 adits have been sealed and 66 shafts are now safeguarded. Report on the reclamation project
In this report, the consultant hired to document the cultural values of this area prior to reclamation freely admits the following:
It was in 2000, as well, that the cooperating agencies agreed reclamation of mines would be a
significant impact to the historic mining resource in Cottonwood Wash. Health and safety
considerations prevented leaving mines open or preserving large chunks of the mining landscape.
The errors and assumptions and mistruths in the reclamation award writeup are so many that it is hard to pick a place to start…
the site was littered…..
calling mining cultural features litter is to demean mining history.
open mines threatened public safety..
this is always the white hat mantra…as if ANY and ALL open mines automatically
threatens public safety..
bringing the land back to productive use. Mining wasn’t productive use?
What is being produced in Cottonwood Wash today?
Especially when 73 miles of road were obliterated [reclaimed] and adits sealed and shafts “safeguarded…”
The BLM brags on their website that this reclamation was an example of how to do things right
BLM Cottonwood Wash webpage
This BLM website has a few glaring inaccuracies:
Preserving Local Mining History during Reclamation
Many former mining communities become worried [an understatement] about losing a part of their identity during reclamation.
Partners such as the BLM and the Forest Service were sensitive to these concerns and
made every attempt to include the local community in the planning process. [Translation: We tried including them, isn't that good enough?]
When reclamation discussions were initiated in the Cottonwood Wash area, the community
felt protective of the mining structures they felt represented their livelihood, history, and community.
By working with local residents, the Technical Committee found a balance between keeping the community
safe from elevated radiation levels and hazardous mine openings and allowing them to hold on to their memories.
A cultural survey and inventory was conducted, and included the collection of oral histories from area residents.
These efforts, supported by the BLM and the Forest Service, contributed to three issues of Blue Mountain Shadows
magazine, dedicated to the mining history and reclamation efforts in the Cottonwood Wash watershed.
BLM dismisses the future potential of the area by concluding: It is highly unlikely that this site will ever
be a future producer in significant amounts ever again due to the [sic] low prices and the presence of larger
deposits with higher mineral grades.
However, their own words speak of a neglect and dismissal of historical values [in over 5 years, they have yet to finish these things they say will be built]:
An onsite informational kiosk and an educational pamphlet are being developed, both of which will explain the mining history and reclamation work completed in the watershed. Prior to sign installation, an environmental assessment must be conducted to ensure that no additional negative environmental impacts result. [An EA must be conducted to put up a sign decribing what no longer is there?]
According to the BLM, the Four Corners area in the southwestern United States attracts sightseers from far and wide every year to explore the ruins of early Native American civilizations. The Cottonwood Wash area, first inhabited by the people of the Puebloan Culture, is rich in artifacts; potsherds and other remnants from almost 7,000 years of human inhabitants are apparent with nearly every turn of a shovel. Historic relics of the area’s mining legacy are also scattered throughout Cottonwood Wash. [These are the same relics that litterred the wash?]
Notably, some of Madame Curie’s early radiation experiments were possible due to the samples she reportedly collected from the area. Additionally, vanadium and uranium from Cottonwood Wash supported the Nation’s steel and atomic endeavors.
Where in the BLM system is a sign, a plaque, or anything other than their webpage that memorializes the role Utah played in Madame Curie’s amazing discoveries?
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