Mission
The state of Colorado has a legacy of some 23,000 abandoned mines, created as part of our history as one of the world’s great mineral producing regions and the abrupt economic and social transitions resulting from mineral ‘boom and bust’ cycles. Today, these abandoned or inactive mines adversely impact soil and water quality through acid mine drainage and heavy metal loading.
Successful remediation requires broad interdisciplinary collaboration among geologists, chemists, botanists, public participation specialists, engineers, legal title experts, environmental lawyers, wildlife experts and other stakeholders and experts. Collaboration is essential to addressing this issue– and addressing this issue is critical to ensure Colorado’s sustainable future as the headwaters of the southwestern United States.
Though Colorado has been a leader in addressing abandoned mines, the resources available to the state and federal governments for remediating these sites are limited compared to the scale of the problem; there are generations of effort ahead of us. And in much of the rest of the world, the effort has hardly started.
For information about our board of directors, click here. Otherwise, read on for more about our mission.
Goals
Our organization aims to:
1
Make a contribution to cleaning up Colorado’s abandoned mine legacy
2
Build cooperation among Colorado institutions of higher education to train the next generation of professionals who will take this task forward
3
Collaborate with Colorado institutions, state and federal agencies, and the private sector to explore improved methods of site remediation
4
Reach out to other regions in the United States and abroad to share information, training, and action for cleaning up inactive or abandoned mine sites
A collaborative model for mine remediation
History
WARM was founded in 2018 by Luke Danielson, a semi-retired environmental lawyer with over 30 years of experience who is currently president of Sustainable Development Strategies Group, a tax-exempt nonprofit focused on sustainable use of natural resources. Mr. Danielson formerly served on the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board, and has long had a passion for abandoned mines and remediation. After Mr. Danielson joined the faculty at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado, he hoped to create an educational environment for passionate land managers to learn about the complex problems associated with mined land reclamation.
Central to WARM’s mission is collaborative approaches and network building that will serve future professionals throughout their careers. This network building is between WARM and other Colorado universities— Western Colorado University, Colorado School of Mines, and Fort Lewis College are all currently represented on our Board of Directors– with state and federal agencies– the Bureau of Land Management and the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety are partners in finding appropriate sites and are on our Advisory Board– and with other nonprofits and stakeholders across the state and beyond. The work of collaboration is never complete, and WARM is still seeking partnerships with other schools, agencies, nonprofits, and stakeholders whose missions complement ours.
Contact us if you feel your agency or organization could be a potential partner!
Board of Directors
Professor Luke Danielson is our executive director. He is a faculty member at Western Colorado University, served two terms on the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board, and was three times its Chair. He led the multi stakeholder process that developed Colorado’s current Mined Land Reclamation Act. As a faculty member at the University of Chile, he did the first study of the feasibility of mined land legislation for the Chilean Mines Ministry, and has advised the governments of Peru, Mongolia, and Romania on their abandoned mines programs, and was a Trustee of the Colorado Abandoned Mine fund. BA (economics) Antioch College and J.D. University of California at Berkeley.
Dr. John McCray is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. His research focuses on chemical transport in hydrologic systems, and generally utilizes a combination of field, laboratory, and modeling work.
Dr. David Gonzales is a professor of geology at Fort Lewis College. He is an alumnus of Fort Lewis College and holds a PhD in Geology and Isotope Geochemistry from the University of Kansas. His principle research interests are focused on geologic systems of the earth with emphasis on igneous and metamorphic rocks, tectonics, and hydrothermal ore systems.
Andrew Watson is the Head of Planning and Technical at BHP’s Legacy Assets, based in Denver Colorado.
Dr. Justin Pomeranz is a faculty member in the Environmental Sciences department at Colorado Mesa University. His research is primarily focused on the ecological impacts of legacy mining activities to the insect and fish communities living in streams.
Dr. Mark Paschke is a Professor of Restoration Ecology in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University.
Advisory board members Scott Effner and Dr. Jennie DeMarco supervise the calibration of field water quality equipment by a Western MEM student.
Our Advisory Board
WARM has an Advisory Board of experts in different disciplines both inside and outside Colorado academic institutions who are willing to share their skills to assist in building skills for students, collaborating with faculty, and other tasks supporting WARM’s mission.
Kirstin Brown is a Colorado Department of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety mine safety specialist.
Dr. Peter Butler has been involved in Colorado water issues for 35 years. He currently coordinates the Animas River Stakeholders Group and has also served on the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission, including three years as chair. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics, a master’s degree in economics, and a Ph.D. in natural resource policy.
Dr. Jennie DeMarco is an ecosystem ecologist and professor at Western Colorado University. She incorporates plant ecology and soil biochemistry to understand how land use changes impact carbon and nutrients are cycled in terrestrial ecosystems.
Scott Effner is a Senior Principal Hydrogeologist at Alloy Group. He is a registered Professional Geologist and has 30 years of consulting experience in mining hydrogeology and geochemistry. Scott holds a master’s of Science in Geology from the University of Idaho. He is also an alumnus of Western where he earned his undergraduate.
Dr. Ann Maest is an aqueous geochemist with expertise in the fate and transport of natural and anthropogenic contaminants in groundwater, surface water, and sediment. Her main area of research and practical work is on the water quality effects of mining. Ann works as a consultant at Buka Environmental in Boulder, Colorado, and is Principal Scientist for E-Tech International, a nonprofit organization working with indigenous and local communities in Latin America. She has a PhD from Princeton University in Geochemistry and Water Resources.
Carl Mount has more than 35 years of experience in reclamation and permitting of mining and resource development in the Western United States, Indonesia, and South and Central America. He has a Master of Science in Range Ecology (Mined Land Reclamation) from Colorado State University.
Jason Willis is the Colorado Abandoned Mine Land Program Manager for Trout Unlimited based in Salida, Colorado. He has received a B.S. in Plastics Engineering Technology from Penn State Behrend and an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
Steve Renner is a contractor working with the Department of Energy who has more than 35 years of mined land reclamation and restoration experience. Steve spent 30 plus years with the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety primarily completing reclamation of abandoned mine sites in Colorado. Subsequently, Steve helped develop the US Department of Energy’s Defense Related Uranium Mines inventory and sampling program. Steve, a geologist, incorporates principles of geomorphic restoration into mined land reclamation and restoration projects. Steve is an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Sciences at Colorado Mesa University.
Brian Briggs is a professional mining engineer with over 35 years' experience in the Mining Industry having worked all over Africa, Northern Canada and the Western USA. Brian has been the CEO of Ouray Silver Mines since 2015 and is also the Chief Operating Officer of the parent company, Aurcana Silver. Over the last 6 years Brian has focused on the technical evaluation and restart of the Revenue-Virginius Mine near Ouray, Colorado which is estimated to be back in production by mid-August of 2021 and currently employs 150 personnel. Brian has overseen the rejuvenation of this mine including the mill design, choice of mining method and has personally overseen the Environmental and Social License aspects of the mine. Brian is also a Director of the Colorado Mining Association as well as a Board Member of Honey Badger Silver a public company. His active in numerous other non-profit groups and is a Ouray Ice Park Board member and a Technical Advisor for the Western Association for Restoration Management. He is a 6th generation mining engineer from Ouray, Colorado and is happy to be working back home.
Todd Jesse is an Environmental Specialist with Ouray Silver Mines Inc. where he oversees environmental permitting and water quality compliance. Prior to entering industry, he studied mine reclamation as a graduate student in environmental management at Western Colorado University. He is also an alumnus of the University of Colorado - Boulder where he earned an undergraduate degree in geology. His principle interests include sustainability in the mining industry, social/environmental justice with regards to overseas resource extraction, and improving water quality impacted by historic mining.
David Wykoff Is a geologist and mine manager with Barrick Gold Corporation. He has more than 30 years of experience in environmental and mine reclamation, specializing in radioactive waste clean-up. Dave started out as an exploration geologist for gold before moving into oil and gas exploration. He then worked designing, constructing and operating portable water treatment units in the San Juan Basin. Dave worked for 15 years on the Environmental Restoration Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory before coming on board with Barrick Gold. Dave is an alumnus of Adams State University.
Future Horizons
Our short-term vision is to develop a portfolio of three to four mine sites in western Colorado at which graduate or undergraduate students, under the supervision of faculty and experienced outside experts, can learn about and perform site assessment, remedial planning, monitoring, and, where appropriate, implementation, as they make a contribution to remediating a part of Colorado’s abandoned mine legacy.
Our long-term plans include reaching out to collaborators in other mountain regions to establish exchanges where Colorado-based students or faculty can work on mine reclamation in mountain regions affected by past mining in other countries, or faculty and students from other countries work alongside us here in Colorado. We also hope to create a fellowship at Western Colorado University to attract talented, passionate young land managers to Colorado to further WARM’s mission while furthering their studies in environmental management.
Ready to join us?
Contact
—
Donate
