CASE STUDY
South Canyon Coal Seam
Study Name
South Canyon Coal Seam
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Location
Glenwood Springs, CO
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Overview
The South Canyon Coal Seam near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, has burned underground for more than a century—creating severe fire risk where the coal seam meets highly flammable invasive annual grasses. A combination of NutraFix® Micronutrient Fertilizer and strategic reseeding helped establish resilient perennial vegetation and reduce the threat of surface wildfire ignition.
Background
South Canyon is a steep, mountainous area known today for mountain biking, hiking, and outdoor recreation. Beneath the surface, however, a 100+ year underground coal fire continues to burn. As it moves upslope, it has the potential to ignite adjacent vegetation—especially areas dominated by cheatgrass and biennial thistles, which dry out early and create a highly combustible fuels layer.
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Native perennial vegetation would significantly reduce fire risk and stabilize soils, but the steep terrain and harsh site conditions have historically made successful reclamation difficult.
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Problem
Surrounding slopes were overrun by:
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Other shallow-rooted, highly flammable invasive annuals
These species ignited easily and provided little erosion control. Native plants were needed for:
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Deep rooting for slope stability
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Later-season greenness, reducing fire risk
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Long-term ecological resilience
Past reclamation attempts relying on seeding alone were largely unsuccessful.
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Site Challenges
Reclamation crews faced:
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Extremely steep terrain
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Difficult access for equipment
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Poor seedbed conditions
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Frequent failure of traditional regrading + reseeding methods
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Risk of the underground fire surfacing
The site demanded a solution that could improve soil nutrient conditions and help desirable species establish quickly.
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Application Rates and Methods
To reduce fire danger and stabilize the slopes, Colorado DRMS implemented a reclamation strategy using:
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NutraFix Micronutrient Fertilizer (~350 lbs/acre)
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Applied concurrently with a native seed mix including:
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Western wheatgrass
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Bluebunch wheatgrass
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Slender wheatgrass
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Rocky Mountain bee plant
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NutraFix was chosen to accelerate germination and strengthen early establishment so native vegetation could outcompete weedy invaders.
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Explore how NutraFix works:
🔗 NutraFix Micronutrients
​Results: Strong Establishment Where Seeding Alone Failed
This project created a dramatic side-by-side comparison:
✔ Seed + NutraFix = Successful Establishment
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Perennial grasses and forbs established robustly during the first growing season
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Nutrient-rich conditions allowed native plants to outcompete invasive annuals
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Slopes saw increased desirable cover and improved stability
✘ Seed Alone = Failure
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Adjacent areas that were seeded without NutraFix failed to establish
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These untreated areas reverted to weedy, highly combustible annual grasses
NutraFix proved to be a powerful catalyst for early vegetation success on challenging terrain.
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What We Learned
Key takeaways from the South Canyon reclamation:
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NutraFix significantly boosts seed establishment on steep or nutrient-poor reclamation sites.
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Native grasses established rapidly and outcompeted invasive annuals within one growing season.
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Areas without NutraFix showed poor germination and transitioned back to highly flammable annual grasses.
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Vegetation improvements have persisted since 2020, demonstrating long-term stability.
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NutraFix is an effective tool for wildfire mitigation, slope stabilization, and vegetation recovery in disturbed landscapes.
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Conclusion
The South Canyon Coal Seam project demonstrates how combining NutraFix Micronutrient Fertilizer with strategic reseeding can dramatically improve vegetation establishment on steep, fire-prone slopes. This approach reduces wildfire risk, strengthens slope stability, and restores native plant communities—where previous methods failed.
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Email us: info@edaphix.com