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<br />In 1969 a research agreement was formalized between CSU and Climax to <br />conduct research on vegetation establishment on tailing and disturbed soils, <br />and species adaptability. This research has been supported by CSU and by an <br />annual grant from the AMAX Foundation, Inc. Between 1969-1!177, tailing <br />samples were brought into the CSU laboratory for analyses of :hemical and <br />physical characteristics. With these data, greenhouse studies were designed <br />to determine the optimum repsonse to amendments and fertility treatments. <br />The best greenhouse treatments were then used in preliminary field trials. <br />Also, a number of species were planted in the field to determine the most <br />suitable species for growth on the tailing and disturbed soils in the upper <br />subalpine environment. With this background, more field plots were <br />established to provide information on amendments, fertility, pl~jnt species, <br />and best management techniques for the revegetation and stabilization of <br />tailing and disturbed soils. The last documented observations of these test <br />plots were made in 1977, but recent observations indicate that the plots <br />have not been doing well since about 1979. <br />9.1.2 Tailing Revegetation Research <br />AMAX research on revegetation of tailing has been an ongoing program since <br />1965 at the Climax Mine. In 1967, research at Climax was begun in <br />cooperation with Dr. William Berg and Henry Barrou, Agronomy Department, <br />CSU. The discussion in this report is limited to research done on the Urad <br />Mine site. <br />Soil Amendments <br />The obvious advantage of adding organics to the sterile growth media (the <br />tailing) prompted an investigation of the practicability of amending with <br />organics on a large scale. The characteristics evacuated were effects on <br />germination and growth, longevity, availability, pollution potential, and <br />cost. Soil amendments considered included the following: <br />1. Topsoil, biologically speaking, would be the most advantageous <br />amendment for reclamation. Revegetation on topsoil provides quick <br />high-quality vegetation requiring little maintenance thereafter. <br />2 <br />