U.S. Bureau of Land Management confirms site no longer requires surface management
June 25, 2026
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The Office of Legacy Management (LM) recently received confirmation from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that reclamation efforts at the Bronco site in Colorado were successfully completed and that the site no longer needs to be managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), a predecessor to the DOE, conducted activities at the site as part of the Plowshare Program. The Plowshare Program was established in 1957 to explore the technical and economic feasibility of using nuclear explosives for peaceful purposes. Project Bronco was a joint operation between the AEC; U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM); and CER Geonuclear Corporation (CER), which represented 18 oil companies. The plan involved the detonation of a 50-kiloton nuclear explosive to extract oil and oil shale.
LM took responsibility for maintenance and record-keeping at the site in 2019, and reclamation efforts began in 2020, which included soil stabilization, revegetation, and reclaiming a 1-mile stretch of road.
The reclamation project for the site encompassed the closure and abandonment of two exploration wells, CCH2 and CCH3. Originally intended to characterize the site, these wells remained inactive for more than 50 years. A third exploration well, CCH1, was preserved at the request of BLM to facilitate groundwater access.
“The goal was to have the well pad and road blend in with the natural landscape, which comprised two different ecosystems – sagebrush steppe and pinon-juniper woodland,” said LM Site Manager Jalena Dayvault. “As livestock and wildlife utilize the land, seed mixes were developed with that in mind, and downed timber was also used to cover the areas.”
Throughout the reclamation project, LM collaborated with BLM to determine how the site would be monitored, and helped create the criteria for successful project completion. During the project, interns in the DOE Mentorship for Environmental Scholars program assisted with data collection and report writing. This summer internship program provides underrepresented college students the opportunity to work and gain experience in a variety of environmental roles with DOE.
“This project had a lot of moving parts and has been an ongoing effort from LM for several years,” Dayvault said. “We are very happy that the project was completed successfully and will no longer need DOE oversight.”
In January, representatives from BLM met with LM, where they reviewed the reclamation status and determined the site no longer needed DOE surface management. The decision was based on reclamation success criteria presented to BLM, corroborated by five years of vegetation monitoring, as well as satisfying stormwater permit requirements.
BLM issued the release of the site at the end of February. The site will continue to be owned and managed by the BLM White River Field Office, but LM will continue to provide record-keeping and responding to stakeholder requests for the site.