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1 <br />i <br />' SENECA II MINE <br /> ROIITT COIINTY, COLORADO <br /> GRAZING, A TOOL FOA IMPROVING <br />' REVEGETATION SIICCESS ON RECLAIMED LAND3 <br />I <br />' <br />The establishment of a permanent effective and diverse <br /> vegetative cover, which is comprised of predominantly native <br />' i species, are basic requirements for revegetated surface coal- <br /> mined lands regulated by the State of Colorado and the Office <br /> of Surface Mining. The regulations specifying these <br />t <br />i <br />l <br />d <br />i <br /> requ <br />remen <br />s are now approx <br />mate <br />y ten years ol <br />. In those ten <br /> years, a great deal of reclamation experience and knowledge has <br />' been gained, resulting in current applied technologies that <br /> will establish reclaimed plant communities that more adequately <br /> meet the various regulatory requirements for revegetation. For <br /> certain parameters such as cover and production, the <br />' satisfactory achievement of the success standards are rather <br /> easily attained. Parameters such as species diversity and <br />' shrub density are much more difficult to achieve because even <br />t <br />t <br />i <br />l <br />d <br />d <br />f <br />t <br />d <br />d <br /> success <br />per <br />ormance s <br />s may represen <br />ona <br />jus <br />e <br />an <br />ar <br />a <br /> levels which are difficult to attain in a ten year liability <br />' period in the semi-arid west. A strict application of the best <br /> current reclamation technologies will greatly aid in achieving <br />' revegetation success now and in the future. However, many <br /> older reclaimed areas were revegetated under the same <br /> regulatory requirements, but without the benefit of current <br /> knowledge and technologies. <br />' ractices at P <br />'s Sen <br />d <br />n <br />a <br />t <br />ti <br />b <br />C <br />l C <br />l <br /> on p <br />ea <br />o <br />y <br />oa <br />ompa <br />y <br />ec <br />y revege <br />a <br />Ear <br /> II Mine in northwestern Colorado were a carryover from those <br />' conducted just prior to the Surface Mining Reclamation and <br /> Control Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Topsoil replacement had already <br /> gained acceptance, but older seed mixes which maximized <br />1 <br />' veaeoor coax coMw-er <br /> Mlestem Divlslon <br />