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KENNECOTT COPPER SPEARHEADS UTAH WETLAND CREATION
Domestic Mine Article by Harold Hough Feb/March 2009

When people think about Kennecott Copper and Utah, they think of the Bingham Canyon pit operation. The Bingham Canyon Mine has produced more copper than any mine in history -- about 18.1 million tons, so much that if it were turned into 14 gauge wire, it would reach from Jupiter to the Sun. The mine is 2ľ miles across at the top and ľ of a mile deep. You could stack two Sears Towers on top of each other and still not reach the top of the mine. And, if you stretched out all the roads in the open pit mine, you'd have 500 miles of roadway -- enough to reach from Salt Lake City to Denver.

However as much engineering went into building and maintaining this pit, Kennecott engineers have been involved in another project that continues to reshape Utah’s face - building a major wetland in Utah that serves as a bird sanctuary.

Many people are surprised to learn that Kennecott Utah Copper developed the 3,670-acre Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve (ISSR). This reserve is one of the most significant achievements in protecting the environment in the Salt Lake Valley. And, since 75% of Utah’s wetlands are located around the Great Salt Lake, the ISSR is critical in protecting Utah’s wetlands.

The wetland project came about when Kennecott needed to expand tailings impoundment near its smelter. Unfortunately, the only land available for the tailings was wetlands. Not only are they a source of bird biodiversity, the area was a stopping over point for migrating birds.

Kennecott talked to a wide range of environmentalists and experts at the EPA, Nature Conservancy, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers. To offset the loss of these wetlands, Kennecott bought about 3,989 acres of land near the south shore of Utah’s Great Salt Lake. But before they could turn it into a shorebird reserve, there was still a lot of work ahead. Years of livestock grazing, illegal dumping, and off-road vehicle use had severely scarred the land.

Kennecott spent much of 1996 hauling truckloads of garbage from the site and preparing the land to become a viable wetland. They had to fence most of the property to keep cattle and illegal vehicles out.
After cleaning up the area, Kennecott ecologists and engineers had to “terraform” the land in order to be a wetland. The company secured alternative water sources to create and sustain the wetlands, dug ditches to bring the water to the area, and constructed shallow earthen dams to contain the water. The wetland and associated upland communities provide important feeding, staging (resting), and breeding habitats to migratory waterbirds. By early 1997, the area had been transformed into the Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve (ISSR). The Reserve now attracts migratory shorebirds and waterfowl and provides habitat for many other wildlife species. Overall, between 2 and 5 million shorebirds representing 200 different species visit the Great Salt Lake and its surrounding wetlands each year.

The project is now recognized as one of the most successful mitigation projects in the US. In 1999, the Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve was designated the Outstanding Environmental and Engineering Geologic Project by the Association of Engineering Geologists. In their commendation, they noted, “The procedures used and the success realized should serve as examples for future wetland mitigation planning.” In 2004, the site, along with the whole Gilbert Bay area was recognized by the National Audubon and BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area.

Despite the awards, Kennecott isn’t finished creating wetlands in Utah. When the current tailing impoundment areas are no longer needed, Kennecott will return them to their original status as wetlands.
Kennecott has shown us that the mining industry can help make the surrounding ecosystem better than before. “Our approach has gone beyond meeting statutory requirements, creating a new wetland site that provided a valuable habitat, and now supports the ecosystem, benefiting the surrounding communities as well as the local flora and fauna,” noted a Kennecott spokesman. Rather than make the expansion of the copper operation a problem, the company turned it into an environmental benefit. It’s proof that mining can have a positive impact on our environment.