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U .~ by periodic sampling with neutron probes. Penetrome- ter readings are being used to determine if trampling resulting from grazing intensih• affects compaction. Bulk density and root biomass data also are being collected during the study. The spoil materials at this grazing site have few, if anc, properties that restrict plant growth. They were low in sodium and soluble salts and even without the addi- tion of topsoil, good grass stands were obtained. This site may not be representative of manv of those expected to be released from bond in the Future because this site was reclaimed before topsoil replacement vvas required by North Dakota la++•. Ho++•ever, results from this study should provide some indication of what problems may arise. as ;a result oFgraiing reclaimed mine lands. ~_To date, we do not have the data to permit us to compile or develop grazing recommendations for re- claimed land. bVe do not know if special precautions are mandatory or if problems will arise as reclaimed land is again grazed. It will take several years oFstudv before vve know the effects of drought or overgrazing. The same basic data~vvill be required .that have been gathered for years on unmined land to determine if the effects of graz- Continued from Page 2. manage in a way which will allow the greatest and most sustained production from the most dominant and desir- able species. Failure to recognize and manage the range according to known principles results in the slo+v but cer- tain elimination or lowered production of the desirable plants and an increase in the less desirable. Associated with this change in the composition of the prairie may be loss in soil structure, water intake, loss of nutrients, and increased soil erosion. The end result is a greatly re- duced amount of animal product which can be realized from each acre of native rangeland. Agricultural experiment stations throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico have only recently begun to recognize the immense importance rangelands will play in the future of animal agriculture. National and regional task force reports indicate a need to increase red meat production from the nation's rangelands by a minimum of 100 per cent over the next hvo decades. Plans for a more concerted effort by [he western states. including North Dakota, have been developed and elaborated by appropriate committees appointed by the different state experiment stations under the auspices of the Creat Plains Agricultural Council and federal agen- cies. One of the major difficulties in instituting rangeland research as such is that rangeland is still being viewed as a commodih~ instead of the natural renewable resource that it actually is. The obscuring of rangeland and re- search by fragmentation of effort and division among mm~erous research problem areas (RPA) within broad resource and commodih- designations has greatly re- duced or inhibited productive efforts related primarily to the solving of problems unique to rangelands. Ne.v emphasis on integrated beef and grassland re- search has been instituted and is presently being earned out by several deparhnents from North Dakota State Unicersih• as multidisciplinary research under the state and federal cooperative efforts supported by a recently ing mined or unmined land are comparable. Continued monitoring and evaluation of data from this study should supply information necessary to answer questions on the effects of grazing the "new" lands in North Dakota and in other areas in the Northern Creat Plains. created organization known as the Beef and Grass Com- mittee for the state of North Dakota. Cooperative re- search between the U. S. Forest Service, the Sheyenne Crazing Association. Agricultural Reseazch Sen•ice, and the Agricultural Experiment Station is a model of the positive approach to carn•ing out research which will both satisfy and benefit the manv demands and kinds of uses by the different agencies and livestock producers. The proposed Central Grassland Research Station on the Coteau area of North Dakota is yet another positive indication of the recognition of the necessity to manage the native grassland for its full potential along wdh the integration of seeded forage grasses and legumes as complementary pastures for a maximized livestock pro- duction system. Management techniques utilizing defer- red and rotation grazing schemes, fertilization of seeded and selected native ranges, burning, combining different classes of livestock, and more efTective livestock distribu- tion systems are proven methods +vhich can be applied by the more intensive and profit minded manager. At the same time, research must more Ibnvard in the con- tinuing development of more and better forage grass va- rieties, breeds oC animals, and application of the tech- niques already mentioned in a more intensive and sys- tematic level of management. It must be recognized that these rangelands can he utilized most effectiveh• m,d ef- ficiently by the grazing animal by the direct conversion of forage plants to the production of red meat. The recognition of the critical role that native range- lands now play and the increased demand for red meat production, recreational use, watershed management. wildlife development, energy and coal mining, and natu- ral gene pool preservation at the national :md global le+'els can only sen-e to urge us to continue our present efforts +vith ever more diligence and intensity. Nuture has provided us with a reliable but ven• complex system: our challenge is to maintain and perhaps even improre its productive capacity for the benefit of all mankind. Steer grazing pasture on reclaimed strip-mined land.