Background
In the 1970’s, the changing governmental regulatory picture promoted a groundswell of interest in studying and protecting natural environments. At that time, little formal research on rehabilitating disturbances at high elevations, including many different habitats and elevational zones, had been performed. Some forward-looking individuals from private companies, government agencies, and academia created the Committee for High Altitude Revegetation (now the HAR Committee) in 1973 with a mission to promote research and gather and disseminate information that would promote understanding of revegetation techniques applied to disturbances of unique, high elevation ecosystems. In the early years, a dearth of experience with plant materials that could be successfully established in these disturbed systems led HAR to emphasize the vegetation aspects of rehabilitation. Types of activities studied and sites visited over the years have included hard rock and strip mines, ski areas, road building projects, reservoirs, energy resource developments, resort and housing developments, recreation sites, parks, and fires and floods in rangelands and forests, always with emphasis on methods and materials that provide quality restoration and revegetation. The emphasis of HAR’s activities evolved to address the changing needs for current information about how to revegetate, reclaim, and rehabilitate disturbed ecosystems. For example, revegetation in the past utilized non-native species, whereas, native species are emphasized in current practice.
To carry out its educational mission, the first HAR workshop was held in 1974 with successive workshops every other year through 2010. The workshops were an invited-speaker event with two days of presentations, poster papers, and commercial exhibits. In 2015, the HAR Workshop was transformed into a conference when HAR began collaborating with the Rocky Mountains Chapter of the Society of Ecological Restoration (SER-RM) to organize the biennial event. It has taken the form of a conference with keynote speakers and contributed presentations and posters as well as exhibitors from the private and public sectors. HAR Workshops and HAR-SERRM Conferences typically have 225-275 attendees.
Since the beginning, HAR has also hosted an annual one- or two-day summer field tour. The summer field tour has included visits to high elevation projects or disturbances that demonstrate revegetation-in-action or the results of completed projects. Recent field tours have been single day events visiting sites similar to past field tours and emphasizing the processes, materials, and results of research and revegetation projects. Attendance at summer field tours varies from around 50 to 100 participants depending on the program and associated logistics.
HAR Committee leadership includes a chair, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer. The positions are filled by periodic elections. The HAR Committee has had variable participant numbers ranging from around 10 to around 30 individuals (see Historical Membership for more details). HAR continues to operate through Colorado State University and consists of a diverse group of individuals dedicated to taking the necessary action to plan and successfully carry out these activities and fulfill its mission.
Founding
“Today we have the potential to create [significant] high altitude disturbances. We recognize the unique scenic and watershed values of the subalpine and alpine, and understand better the fragility of these ecosystems. The need for rehabilitation of present-day disturbances is obvious. However, many past and current revegetation efforts are after-thoughts.
Information on rehabilitation potential and procedures must be available for planning and in considering alternatives. Rehabilitation must include use of the best available technology, and long-term commitments for management and maintenance.
To help in meeting these needs a workshop on revegetation of high altitude disturbed lands was organized by the following co-operators: Climax Molybdenum Company, Colorado Department of Highways, Soil Conservation Service, University of Colorado, U.S. Forest Service, Vail Associates, and Agricultural Research Service.”
– Preface to the first proceedings of a Workshop on Revegetation of High-Altitude Disturbed Lands, held in Ft. Collins January 31 to February 1, 1974
Three people shared equally in the organizing of the first “Committee for High Altitude Revegetation”: W.A. (Bill) Berg and Robin Cuany of CSU, and James A. (Jim) Brown of Climax Molybdenum Company. According to Larry Brown (former chairman of the committee for ~22 years), Jim Ludwig of Climax Molybdenum Company, more than anyone else, deserves credit for starting the HAR Committee. Jim Ludwig was very concerned about reclaiming disturbances at Climax Mine and he began to sponsor and to encourage research on tailing and other mine wastes as early as 1969. Some of the first research was done by Bill Berg and Robin Cuany of CSU, along with graduate student Henry Barrau. In late 1973, Jim Ludwig (through Climax) provided some funding and had Jim Brown (who was working for Ludwig at the time) contact Cuany and Berg to organize a workshop to “disseminate information regarding revegetating high elevation disturbed lands.”
Ski resorts, Colorado Division of Highways, U.S. Forest Service, and mining companies were the target audience. Organizers of the first workshop put together a program of 13 papers and four working group discussions. According to Larry Brown, the first workshop attendance was estimated at about 100 participants. It was so well-attended (above expectations) that a field trip for summer 1974 was conducted. This initial enthusiasm gave rise to the biennial spring conferences and annual summer field tours HAR continues to offer today.