Figure 29.— Topsoil borrow strips (top) at the Dave Johnston mine in Wyoming. The soil borrow strips, about 10 feet wide, 

 were reseeded with western and crested wheatgrasses. Sagebrush occupies the undisturbed strips. In the center, the first 

 bench of overburden has been removed and exposes a dark soil zone of irregular thickness that covers white silty sand- 

 stone. In this instance, only the upper 6 to 10 inches were used for topsoiling. Eroded spoil is in the near foreground, op- 

 posite the box cut. Mining is proceeding toward the soil strips. October 1978. 



under the same regulations. Turnover in recla- 

 nnation staffs at some mines lead to a loss of 

 continuity in activities and, in a few/ cases, 

 negated the value of research plots. The appoint- 

 ment of a new inspector, for example, changed 

 guidance at an individual mine in one reported 

 instance. 



At most of the mines visited, the reclamation 

 staff was separate from and independent of the 

 mining staff. Differences as to where mining 

 ceases and to where reclamation activities begin 

 were only evident when assessing the cost of 

 reclamation. In all cases, both groups func- 

 tioned as cooperating teams. 



Reclamation success probably will be strongly 

 influenced by the amount of corporate support 

 given to the reclamation effort in terms of prior- 

 ity, staff, and technical support. Some reclama- 

 tion staffs have done innovative experimental 

 reclamation work. Time is needed to evaluate 

 the success of these experiments, but early 



results indicate that some of this innovative 

 work is of value (fig. 36). Most work has involved 

 creating wildlife cover (figs. 37 and 38) and 

 manipulating the surface to prevent erosion and 

 conserve moisture (fig. 18). At some mines, 

 public service clubs and scout groups have 

 volunteered to help plant small trees and shrubs 

 supplied by the mining companies. 



Although the ingenuity of individual reclama- 

 tion efforts was obvious, an adequate exchange 

 of technical information and ideas was lacking. 

 For instance, one mine was able to include an 

 unusually wide diversity of species in its plant- 

 ing program because the reclamation manager 

 was familiar with many sources of plants and 

 seeds from a published compilation of sources 

 by Crofts and McKell (1977); managers at some 

 other mines, however, were unaware of this pub- 

 lication. Although reclamation specialists in 

 some of the mining districts met professionally, 

 the flow of information seemed to be restricted. 



44 



