Photo Contest First Place Winner

First Place Winner of The More You Dig’s Photo Contest for Spring 2011

John Gates : I have a photo that I figured I could submit. It shows a construction aggregate / sand and gravel mine, which is being concurrently reclaimed to open space pond habitat for wildlife use and potential recreational use. I personally like that the photo depicts active mining in one half and a tranquil pond in the other; quite the dichotomy.

In the central California region, much of the PCC grade construction aggregate comes from alluvial flows out of the western slope of the Sierra Nevadas. In fact, nearly every cubic inch of concrete and asphalt from Sacramento to Bakersfield contains aggregates from these sources. Many of these areas were historically cleared and converted to agricultural uses. Mining these resources not only provides for the everyday construction aggregate materials we need, but also provides for a way to economically convert a small percentage of land back to an open space wildlife habitat while impacting, in the long-term, an imperceptible percentage of the total farmland within the State.

Where did the aggregates in the concrete and asphalt you’re standing on come from?

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