Figure 21.— Rough, ditched, and grooved reclaimed area adjacent to recently smoothed spoils and spoil piles (right) at the 

 McKinley mine in New Mexico. The rough surface texture is used to catch and hold precipitation. The 2-year stand of grass 

 shown here seems to indicate good potential for successful revegetation in this area of low annual precipitation (9.0 to 

 12.5 inches). November 1978. 



tion research to date. Such relationships have 

 been only addressed in a limited way through ef- 

 forts to recreate habitats for specific kinds of 

 wildlife. In general, these efforts have been di- 

 rected at establishing habits for certain game 

 species, particularly big game species, and con- 

 sequently plants known to be palatable to game 

 have been planted. 



VEGETATION 



Vegetation, as well as being the final objec- 

 tive, is also an integral element of the reclama- 

 tion process. Quick-growing, short-lived species 

 are planted for temporary cover on stockpiled 

 material and occasionally to provide shade and 

 mulch for slower growing, more permanent spe- 

 cies. Weedy annuals, however, especially 

 Russian-thistle, tend to dominate newly dis- 

 turbed ground and newly planted areas. Russian- 



thistle, an annual plant, seems ubiquitous for 

 first-year growth on many western coal mined 

 lands whether the lands are abandoned or 

 planted (fig. 33). The growth of Russian-thistle 

 can be misleading to the casual observer with 

 respect to the effectiveness of reclamation, 

 however, because its dense green cover, seen in 

 summer, dies and is blown away in winter. As 

 described earlier, annuals can form a large per- 

 centage of the plant community for some time 

 on abandoned mined land. For a permanent all- 

 season cover, however, perennial plants are 

 required. 



The primary goal of early reclamation at- 

 tempts was to stabilize spoils to reduce erosion. 

 Perennial grasses planted at that time were 

 mostly nonnative (exotic) species that were 

 tough and adaptable but not necessarily useful 

 for grazing or conducive to the establishment of 

 a diverse native plant community. Later the 

 grass species being planted were upgraded to 



36 



