m a u K mnsxjuimmamim g 



Figure 22.— A graded highwall at the Big Sky mine in Montana. Little, if any, topsoil was added to the sodic spoil in the back- 

 ground. Fifteen to 20 inches of topsoil was added to the right foreground area which was seeded in 1975 and reseeded in 

 1976. Vegetation consists mostly of annuals and some wheatgrasses. October 1978. 



include more productive strains and more 

 palatable species and included some native 

 species (Cable, 1977). Legumes (alfalfa, white 

 clover, and yellow clover) were also included. 

 The broadened objective then became both ero- 

 sion control and establishment of grazing areas 

 for livestock on rangelands. 



More recently, seedlings or seeds of woody 

 browse species are being planted (fig. 15). In- 

 troduction of fourwing saltbush by seeding has 

 been particularly successful on saline sites 

 (fig. 30). In general, the two objectives of ground 

 cover— erosion control and biological productiv- 

 ity—have stayed much the same; the additional 

 goal of a "diverse, effective, and permanent 

 vegetative cover" has come under OSfvl regula- 

 tion. OSM's "measures of success" are made by 

 comparing the ground cover and above-ground 

 productivity with that of adjacent undisturbed 

 reference areas (U.S. Office of Surface Mining, 

 1979, p. 15413-15414). 



The plants native to the semiarid western 



coal-mining areas are the end products of thou- 

 sands of years of selective development and 

 adaptation. At any one mine, a variety of vegeta- 

 tive communities will reflect differences in soils, 

 slope, moisture, and use. These vegetative com- 

 munities also have associated with them spe- 

 cific wildlife species. Recreating the original 

 vegetative communities could be virtually im- 

 possible, given the changes in landforms and 

 soils. The goal of the regulatory authorities is, 

 however, to reestablish native plant communi- 

 ties to the greatest degree possible. 



Considerable work has been done and is be- 

 ing done in the selection of better plants for use 

 in reclamation. Many researchers have reported 

 on the variables, made recommendations, and 

 identified problems in planting (Monsen and 

 Plummer, 1978), but limited research has been 

 done on the selection and improvement of native 

 plant species to support the needs of local 

 wildlife. Many of the grasses now used in 

 reclamation planting are nonnative cultivars 



37 



