It’s easy to put off doing something that doesn’t add any value to the bottom line and costs a lot of money. Sometimes though, it’s the right thing to do, and can make you feel good about the work your company does. Sure – a lot of companies talk about how they are helping out the environment. We feel though it is our duty to be stewards of the land and give back to Earth that which we have used.
Right now we are starting the process of reclaiming part of our quarry in Oakfield, Wisconsin. Although there is no mandate on it being done by a certain time, it’s important to us as a company to do it. Part of opening a quarry is having a plan in place to enhance the land when it is past its usefully life. The aerial shot below shows the area that is going to be reclaimed. The red line is a natural gas line that goes through the property. Our plan is to work the north side of the land back to this line in the future.
There are several different ways to handle a quarry’s reclamation. Some will turn it into a large pond; some will fill it in. One of the most amazing quarry reclamation projects I’ve seen is in San Antonio, Texas, where they took a massive quarry and turned it into a renowned golf course! You have to check it out to appreciate it – www.quarrygolf.com. Unfortunately, our quarry is in a pretty low-key area, so we’ll have to stick to a more traditional approach… competing with Kohler’s Whistling Straits just isn’t in our future right now:)!
The quarry was originally purchased in 1987. Starting in 1989, we actively quarried the land for the next 25 years. During this time, the quarry operators have been filling the excess, non-conforming stone back into the quarry.
Our current plan is to level the the scrap stone that’s left in the quarry, and cover the stone with ground and topsoil. There will be a small wading pond left on the property that is currently used by ducks and geese heavily during migration time. The ground cover area will be turned into native prairie land. Be watching for more information on the progress of this transformation. Follow the link below to check out our photo set and see more updated photos!
See more photos and updated photos here!
Mike Buechel
V.P. of Operations and Marketing
[email protected]