Lewis and Clark County commissioners heard bids on Tuesday for reclamation of the Grizzly Gulch Placer mine site.
The county received four bids for construction and improvements. The base bids ranged between one hundred and fifty and two hundred and eighty thousand dollars.
Jennifer McBroom is Lewis and Clark's water quality protection district supervisor and summarized the need for this project to the board.
“These pits are unstable, have unstable embankments, and have disrupted the surface water and groundwater follow-through Grizzly Gulch and created unsafe conditions for the public and unsafe driving conditions along Grizzly Gulch Drive,” said McBroom.
The site has an extensive mining history, mostly for gold, and according to officials, has obliterated and disturbed roughly four acres of floodplain.
McBroom adds that there are several potential benefits to the project.
“It’ll be great for the community once it’s reclaimed; we’ll have a riparian area, a pedestrian, and then possibly a little bike trail; it’s on the way to some wonderful trails in the south hills.”
County commissioners must select the winning bid at their January 7 meeting.
