Forest Service Plans Revegetation Activities at Old La Jara Mine

ALBUQUERQUE, NM, April 29, 2024 — Beginning May 6, the USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region will begin revegetation activities at the old La Jara Mine on the Cibola National Forest. The La Jara Mine, managed by the Cibola’s Mt. Taylor Ranger District, is an abandoned uranium mine remediated by the Forest Service in 2016. To date, 4,460 cubic yards of mine waste material have been cleaned up through excavation and encapsulation in an engineered onsite consolidation cell to prevent cell to prevent humans and ecological receptors from interacting with contaminated material. Three open pits and one trench were sealed to improve site safety.

Annual inspections in 2023 showed that remediated areas have not fully revegetated. The Forest Service will begin revegetation activities using heavy equipment to place additional cover soil and imported compost to improve the composition of the soil. The remediated areas will then be seeded to promote revegetation. Access roads will be regraded to ensure heavy equipment can reach the site. Work is expected to be completed by the end of May 2024.

For additional information, please contact Hailey Stock, assistant regional environmental engineer, Southwestern Region, at hailey.stock@usda.gov.