Gifford Ranch Dirt Work
More Gifford Ranch Dirt WorkGifford Ranch Dirt Work
Gifford Ranch Dirt Work
We had a dam blowout again this week, and were called to do some remediation work on a local ranch. Wyoming is rich in history, and we have been priveledged to get to know our neighbours partially because of opportunities to use our excavating equipment for agricultural purposes. A high percentage of Wyoming agriculture is based on irrigation through a variety of methods. Almost a century ago, a plethera (I love that word) of canals were carved out of desert to bring agriculture to Wyoming. Within a short amount of time, comprehensive drainage systems had to be instituted to control salinity and sodicity issues, allowing flood irrigated ground to remain feasible for agriculture. Most of the flood irrigation uses water from snow melt from the high ranges.
On the Gifford Ranch west of Lovell, about 600 acres of land has been engineered (without engineers) to irrigate and drain in a largely sustainable fashion; Irrigate cropland, control runoff and sedimentation, sustain and promote wildlife. and make continue to make improvements to promote a viable farming enterprise as opportunities arise. But when a “cloudburst” hits in the Big Horn mountain range above, a wall of water can eliminate what man has instituted as flood control…..
So we relocated fill in the ranch, compacted the earthen dam and used “bentomat” as a remediation tool to control erosion of spillways and saturation of the dams in the future. Bentomat is a product made with bentonite. Think of carpet, with a layer of bentonite clay in it. The interesting thing is, benonite is clay that will expand up to 16 times its size when saturated with water, making an excellent sealant for ponds, drilling rig bore holes, and yes, kitty litter. As a side note, be advised, bentonite soil is not great to build on due to its highly expansive properties and specially engineered foundations may be neccessary…
For many years after it was cleared in the 1940’s this fast flowing creek has eroded the surrounding land, to chasms with depths of 20 ft. By installing earthen dams in sensible areas, the 2nd generation rancher is reclaming land. Cottonwoods are beginning to grow in the creek bottoms again. Turkeys, ducks, deer and elk are returning. We are very excited to be a part of this remediation, a symbitotic relationship between rancher and the surrounding environment.