Community Impacts
South of Shiprock is the site of the Church Rock uranium mill tailings spill. This spill was the largest release of radiation in U.S. history, and
“released 1,000 tons of tailings and 93 million gallons of acidic wastewater into the Rio Puerco, traveling about 80 miles downstream to eastern Arizona. People who waded unknowingly into the river immediately after the spill suffered acid burns on their feet and legs, and an unknown number of livestock (cattle, sheep, horses) were also lost in the river.”
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Silver Mine Reclamation
WARM’s field course journeyed into the heart of Colorado’s San Juans to study the legacy of silver mining—from 19th-century boomtowns to modern Superfund cleanup. A firsthand look at abandoned mines, acid drainage, and the path toward long-term restoration.
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Legacy to Lessons
In June 2025, students, industry professionals, and representatives from civil society gathered at Fort Lewis College in Durango for a week-long field course on environmental remediation and mine reclamation. Organized by the Western Alliance for Reclamation Management (WARM) with the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG), the June 22–29 course brought together 17 participants from Western Colorado University, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, the University of Arizona, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and beyond.
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