Reclamation of the Wahsatch gathering system pipeline in southwestern Wyoming and northeastern Utah
The Union Pacific Resources Company (UPRC) constructed a 40.4 mile pipeline in 1993 in Summit and Rich Countries, Utah and Uinta County, Wyoming. The pipeline collects and delivers natural gas from six existing wells to the Whitney Canyon Processing Plant north of Evanston, Wyoming. We describe reclamation of the pipeline, the cooperation received from landowners along the right-of-way, and mitigation measures implemented by UPRC to minimize impacts to wildlife. The reclamation procedure combines a 2 step topsoil separation, mulching with natural vegetation, native seed mixes, and measures designed to reduce the visual impacts of the pipeline. Topsoil is separated into the top 4 inches of soil material, when present. The resulting top dressing is rich in native seed and rhizomes allowing a reduced seeding rate. The borders of the right-of-way are mowed in a curvilinear pattern to reduce the straight line effects of landowner cooperation on revegetation. Specifically, following 2 years of monitoring, significant differences in plant cover (0.01<0.5) exist among regions of the pipeline. Observations suggest that revegetation may be heavily influenced by grazing management by individual landowners. Observations also suggest that growth of sagebrush plants from seed germination is exceeding growth from sagebrush plants planted as tublings.
- OSTI ID:
- 588937
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9605286-; TRN: 98:001296-0099
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 13. annual meeting of the American Society for Surface Mining and Reclamation (ASSMR), Knoxville, TN (United States), 18-23 May 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of Successes and failures: Applying research results to insure reclamation success; Daniels, W.L.; Burger, J.A.; Zipper, C.E. [Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA (United States). Depts. of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences and Forestry] [eds.]; PB: 889 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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