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2. A handful of polyacrylamides is placed in the hole. The polyacrylamides are used to <br />store water in the rooting zone. <br />3. The seedling is gently removed from its container, holding as much soil together <br />azouad the roots as possible, and placed in the hole. <br />4. Loose soil is placed back over the roots, filling the hole halfway. The soil is lightly <br />tamped and then the rest of the hole is filled. The soil is tamped again unless it is very <br />wet. Tamping wet soil reduces the oxygen available to the roots. <br />5. A small dam is built azound the seedling to retain water. <br />6. Weed-barrier fabric is placed azound the base of the seedling and secured with metal <br />pins and rocks. <br />7. Bamboo stakes are threaded through two sides of a mesh tree guard and gently <br />lowered over the seedling. The stakes aze pushed into the soil. The tree guard <br />protects the seedlings from browsing. <br />8. A wind barrier is positioned next to the seedling to protect it from wind desiccation. <br />(Reaves, 1999) <br />A mix of Pinyon Pine and Rocky Mountain Juniper has been planted at Queens, for a total of <br />4,260 trees since 1995. Lazger trees have been more difficult to establish than seedlings. Dry- <br />land species such as Pinyon and Juniper tend to have broad, fairly shallow root systems, and <br />when the trees aze collected for transplant, the feeder roou are lost. This isn't a problem with <br />seedlings, because they come out of the container with their entire root system intact. When the <br />Queens enhanced reclamation plan was developed, the estimates of potential tree survival varied <br />from 10% to 80%. After the first five yeazs, the seedling survival rate is about 80% overall, with <br />some sites as low as 30% and others as high as 95%. The growth pattern of Pinyon Pines and <br />Junipers is outwazd rather than upward, and given the high percentage of survival so far, it is <br />anticipated that some of the trees will yield to competition from their neighbors. There is also <br />some evidence that damage to the trees by the sheep may reduce the overall survival rate. Others <br />may eventually need to be thinned to promote the overall health of the new forest. The ultimate <br />measure of success, however, is the number of trees that survive to reproductive age, in about 15 <br />years. <br />In 1997 an attempt was made to plant 45 .larger Ponderosa Pines, but all the trees died. These <br />trees were replaced with two to three foot Ponderosa Pines. Approximately half of these trees <br />have survived. The trees are regularly watered through a drip irrigation system. <br />When a vegetation survey was conducted in 1998, it was noted that tree plantings of Pinyon Pine <br />and Juniper have been mostly on the dip slope of the quarry. The final areas to be planted toward <br />the bottom of the quarry have less slope and greater water availability. Consideration is being <br />given to planting broad-leaved species in the wetter areas, such as Narrow-leaf Cottonwood and <br />Chokecherry. This would add variety to the visual scene, fall color and new habitat. <br />Part of the reclamation has included the planting of wildflower seeds. Wildflowers were <br />introduced into the enhanced reclamation plan to provide greater plant diversity, as well as to <br />provide visual enhancement. The seeding has been concentrated on 12 acres on the lower third of <br />the quarry where the soil is the richest. The basic concept is that if wildflowers are established in <br />one area of the quarry, they will then spread to other areas with suitable conditions. Funding for <br />wildflower seed planting has wme from the Broadmoor Crarden Club. Among the species <br />(11) <br />