Rebecca briesmoore, P.e. - 2023 Master in Environmental Management Graduate, Western colorado university

Rebecca Briesmoore is a graduate of the MEM program in the Global Sustainability track and served for second terms as the AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer for WARM. As a VISTA volunteer, Rebecca developed course curriculum for graduate and undergraduate mine reclamation courses hosted at Western Colorado University. She also worked with industry professionals in the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety to establish internship and field work learning opportunities for interested students, as well as supporting students working with and taking classes with WARM. In addition, Rebecca oversaw the daily operations of WARM and managed the social media and outreach initiatives.

Since graduating, Rebecca has taken her civil engineering/water resources background to work as a Water Resources Engineer/Project Manager for the Colorado River District in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Nate Gore - 2021 Master in Environmental Management Graduate, Western colorado university

Nate Gore is currently working to complete his Master in Environmental project as the Western Alliance for Restoration Management's third consecutive Graduate Fellow. His MEM project includes the continuation of his predecessor's research on biochar for mining restoration. Specifically, the soils from the Ben Butler mine were treated with biochar and compost amendments in a series of column tests to study fluctuations in nutrients and the breakdown of contaminants. Another component of the project is to write preliminary management strategies for a programmatic removal of the beetle-killed trees at Monarch Pass so that the material could be repurposed into biochar. The biochar created from this innovative strategy could then be distributed to mined lands for revegetation and restoration projects across Colorado and the West. This project has the potential to be scaled and applied to any mountain location where beetle kill and mined land impacts have degraded the landscape.

Additionally, Nate has been serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer exclusively for WARM. In this role, he is performing many administrative roles to keep the non-profit moving forward. He has aided in the development and facilitation of two field opportunities for first year graduate students in the MEM program. Additionally, he also helped to create an internship opportunity at the Pitch Mine Reclamation Area, an inactive mine located about one hour from Western Colorado University's campus. After he graduates in May of 2021, Nate hopes to begin a career in ecosystem restoration and conservation. He is also very interested in working in alpine ski resort environmental management.

TODD JESSE - 2020 MASTER IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT GRADUATE, WESTERN COLORADO UNIVERSITY

Todd Jesse's Master in Environmental Management continued work at WARM's pilot site, the Ben Butler Mine. WARM collected soil and water samples at the Ben Butler in August 2018 for a meteoric water mobility procedure (MWMP), acid-based accounting (ABA), soil analysis, x-ray fluorescence (XRF), & field pH/Conductance. Despite the in depth data collected, there were still gaps in knowledge and additional information was needed before restoration work could be prescribed. The MWMP leachate & XRF data that was generated needed to be validated, analyzed, and compiled in a geochemical report along with all of the other data collected. In addition to completing the analysis, the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (DRMS) requested a study of the denuded areas that extend from the waste rock at Ben Butler to better understand how metals are moving downslope from the site. The results of the geochemical study will inform mine closure actions at the Ben Butler Mine leading to an incremental improvement in the health of the watershed and future monitoring projects for WARM students.

Todd also investigated the effectiveness of biochar as a mine waste amendment material. Biochar (charcoal produced with the intention of using it as a soil amendment) not only helps provide soil structure and sequester carbon, but it also has the ability to adsorb metals and change pH - making it potentially usable as an amendment for acid mine drainage. However, little was known about the ability of biochar to adsorb metals over long time periods and the effects of biochar on water chemistry at mine sites had not been well quantified. Todd's work was intended to study the ability of biochar to sorb metals over time in low pH solutions with high total dissolved solids such as those found at mine sites and determine if mixing biochar with limestone can affect the adsorption properties of the biochar. Preliminary results showed that when using a combination of biochar with limestone, the limestone overwhelms the biochar and is more effective in neutralizing pH and lowering conductivity of acid mine drainage than biochar. Preliminary results also show that when used by itself biochar can adsorb metals from mine waste for no more than two months and is not as effective as limestone in altering the pH and dissolved metals concentration in water from mine waste over a multiple month time frame. However, a combination of limestone and biochar might still be useful when reclaiming mine sites because biochar's ability to improve soil structure, increases nutrient retention, raises soil moisture, and sequesters carbon - something that future WARM projects will investigate.

After graduation, Todd worked in the mining industry for Ouray Silver Mines in Ouray, Colorado, where he moved from Junior Geologist to Environmental Manager. In 2023, he left Ouray Silver Mines to work for the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety.

Elizabeth Hartson - 2019 Master in Environmental Management Graduate, Western colorado university

Elizabeth Hartson's Master in Environmental Management project laid the groundwork for WARM to provide on-the-ground educational opportunities for students across Colorado through the formation of a board of directors and an advisory board, the application for 501(c)(3) status, the generation of initial funding, and the completion of an initial site assessment at the Ben Butler Mine. She also wrote a geochemical analysis plan, implemented the first round of characterization and analysis, planned initial monitoring activities, and wrote a preliminary remediation plan that was reviewed by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety and will be revised and implemented by the advisory board in coming years. Through both the continuation of Elizabeth's work and the development of our organization, the foundations have been laid for WARM to facilitate future student projects with real-world impacts on the global issue of abandoned mine cleanup.

Elizabeth now works with Freeport-McMoRan as an environmental scientist focusing on waste characterization and management. She has refined extensive field experience and excellent communication skills. In her current position as an environmental scientist, she serves as a site leader and a resource for environmentally safe and responsible operations. She utilizes her expertise to safely sample industrial waste to make waste determinations, conduct audits, and collaborate with site supervisors and operators to meet goals that help her site exceed environmental compliance. She also leverages her leadership and communication skills by giving environmental training once per month for new and current employees. She serves on the site Safety Leadership Team, Crisis Management Team, and Emergency Response Team.