Wyoming company donates soil sampling truck

BKS Environmental Associates of Gillette and Rock Springs delivered an extended cab 1999 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 4x4 with a Giddings soil coring auger to the college April 27. The appraised value of the company’s gift, which is now owned by the Chadron State Foundation, is $15,510.

“Having been a student at CSC, I knew that the college could use this,” said Cyrus Kezar of BKS, a 2009 CSC range management graduate who delivered the truck to campus. “I used to be the one running the shovel when we went out in the field to get soil samples.”

Dr. Chuck Butterfield, the faculty member who teaches the soils courses in CSC’s Department of Applied Sciences, said the new truck will be a valuable asset to the department and will expand instructional opportunities. The unique auger will extract a four-inch cylindrical soil profile up to 10 feet.

“This truck will speed up our field work, consequently helping future classes get a better understanding of soils,” Butterfield said. “We are extremely grateful for the generosity of BKS.”

Dr. Mike Leite, who teaches geosciences courses, said the machine will help in a variety of ways, beginning this summer when students study tectonic activity in the Pine Ridge region.

“The donation of the Giddings coring rig is timely for my students in the geoscience program. Starting with the 2008 field season we have been taking a close look at the geology of Pine Ridge in the Chadron region and have discovered some features indicating recent tectonic activity,” he said. “Obtaining samples of this sort will let us see just beneath the surface into layers that would otherwise be accessible only with hand trenching. This way we can do a quick look for diagnostic layers such as datable radiocarbon with minimal effort and surface disruption.”

BKS is a company that offers environmental services for the extraction industries, such as coal, oil and gas, uranium and coal-bed methane. The company, which has hired numerous CSC graduates, specializes in soils, vegetation and wetland surveys, as well as reclamation design and monitoring.