observations by the authors; topographic maps; and written correspondence with the r 



Growing Media 



Premining: No data. 



Postmining: In older recla- 

 mation, fine-textured 

 spoils with high sodium 

 content usually tnixed in 

 handling; some highly 

 sodic spoils still exposed; 

 topsoil not used. Recent 

 reclamation, including 

 reworking of older areas, 

 has involved up to 21 in. 

 of topsoil. 



Premining: Mostly grasses (wheatgrass-needlegrass). 



Postmining: Successful seeding of native grasses and 

 grain crops achieved on shallow, nontoxic spoils 

 or on topsoiled surfaces. Little success in 

 rehabilitating raw spoils having high sodium con- 

 tent. Western and crested wheatgrasses, green 

 needlegrass, slender wheatgrass, yellow 

 sweetclover, and Sudan grass cover. Planted and 

 self-sown trees and shrubs on old spoil piles. 



Species Diversity 



Premining: Mostly 

 mixed grasses. 



Postmining: Mostly 

 grasses. Experimental 

 plantings of exotic 

 trees smd shrubs on 

 rougher ground. 

 Cottonwood, willow, 

 and common reed 

 volunteers in wetter 



Premining: Clay loam to 

 cobbly loam soils, 10 to 

 40 in. deep, moderate 

 permeability; pH 7.2-8.0. 



Postmining: Smoothed sur- 

 face, generally 6 to 12 in. 

 topsoil, but as much as 

 36 in. on highly sodic 

 spoils; fertilized. 



Premining: Ponderosa pine forests on ridges and 

 buttes, shrub-grassland on slopes, and wheat- 

 grass-needlegrass in bottom lands. 



Postmining: Vegetation cover variable (4 to 22 per- 

 cent). Slender wheatgrass and associated 

 wheatgrasses dominant. Lesser amounts of 

 yellow sweetclover and winter wheat. Preliminary 

 results from ponderosa pine revegetation show 

 80-percent survival of transplanted containerized 

 trees and 33-percent survival of transplanted 

 bare-rooted trees. 



Premining: About 20 

 species. 



Postmining: Mostly 

 grasses; diversity in- 

 creased by trans- 

 planting local pon- 

 derosa pines and 

 associated vegeta- 

 tion. Eight species of 

 shrubs and two 

 species of deciduous 

 trees planted. 



Premining: No data. 



Postmining: 320-900 lbs/acre for 

 ponderosa pine area; 3,000 

 lbs/acre for shrub grass area. 



Premining: Sandy loam over 

 parent sandstone and 

 shale; pH 7.0-8.2; toxic 

 materials absent in sur- 

 face zones. 



Postmining: Selective salvage 

 and redistribution of top- 

 soil and subsoil; stockpil- 

 ing avoided. Straw mulch 

 incorporated. 



Premining: Mixed prairie (wheatgrasses, needlegrass, 

 grama, sedge, silver sagebrush, big sagebrush, 

 fringed sagebrush, broom snakeweed) with scat- 

 tered woodland of ponderosa pine and juniper; 

 intrusions of riparian plants (cottonwood, box- 

 elder, chokecherry, snowberry). 



Postmining: 40-percent cover and litter accumulation 

 in basins; cover of needleandthread; bluebunch 

 wheatgrass; threadleaf sedge; tall, crested, west- 

 em, slender, and thickspike wheatgrasses; blue 

 grama; prairie sandreed, cheatgrass; bluegrass; 

 and bluestem. Upland areas covered by tall and 

 crested wheatgrasses, Indian ricegrass, and 

 others; cover 25 percent. Research plots moni- 

 tored by Montana State University. Early recla- 

 mation by broadcast, drill, and aerial seeding 

 with crested wheatgrass, thickspike wheatgrass, 

 western wheatgrass, smooth brome, orchard- 

 grass, alfalfa, sainfoin, fourwing saltbush, and 

 similar plants. 



Premining: Over 200 

 species on rangeland 

 sites. 



Postmining: 1972 seed 

 mix contained 16 

 species. After 1973, 

 refined seed mix of 

 14 major perennial 

 species was used. 



Premining: 250-800 lbs/acre; 

 500-1,600 lbs/acre potential 

 for wetter areas. 



Postmining: 3,000 lbs/acre for 

 introduced stands. 



