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• <br />SOIL MANAGEMENT AND RECLAMATION SUCCESS <br />The focus of mine land reclamation has centered on the establishment of a diverse, effective, and <br />long-lasting vegetative cover that is capable of self-regeneration without continued dependence <br />on irrigation, soil amendments or fertilizer. Reclaimed land vegetation must also be at least <br />equal in extent of cover to the natural vegetation of the surrounding azea (CO DMG Rule 3.1.10). <br />Implementation of reclamation plans has been universally successful on hazd rock, industrial <br />minerals, and coal mined lands in the west. Most western surface mines reclaimed are <br />documenting vegetation cover and production numbers well in excess of pre-mining values. <br />However, plant species diversity within reclaimed azeas is generally less than that found on <br />adjacent undisturbed lands. <br />Key to a successful reclamation plan is the effective management of soil. Historically soil <br />salvage plans maximized the volume of soil removed and replaced, while minimizing variability <br />in the replaced soil. This trend has slowly changed over time with many mines reducing their <br />soil salvage and replacement depths from several feet to 18 inches or less in order to reduce <br />unnecessary material handling. Numerous reseazch projects and papers have been published <br />which attempt to define the optimal soil replacement depth needed to maximize production <br />{Barth 1983, Barth and Martin 1984, McGinnies 1980; McGinnies and Nicholas 1980; Merrill et <br />al., 1998; Power et al., 1976; Schuman and Power 1981). Wyoming DEQ/LQD published <br />Instruction Memorandum No. 39 which concluded that "approximately 18 inches of soil is <br />required to optimize vegetative production on reclaimed lands" and "without further studies or <br />• adequate demonstration, 18 inches will be used as the minimum level for mines with an excess <br />of topsoil" (WDEQ, 1988). <br />Environmental requirements aze continually subject to re-interpretation. The Billings <br />Reclamation Symposium brings together the nations preeminent reclamation authorities every 4 <br />years to discuss, debate, and propose new and emerging reclamation strategies to enhance mine <br />land restoration. Eighteen years ago, Depuit (1984) identified various topsoiling strategies aimed <br />at increasing vegetation diversity rather than productivity. Foremost, among his <br />recommendations were directly hauling salvaged topsoil and varying the quality and quantity of <br />replaced topsoil. Since this 1984 symposium an increasing number of soil scientists and <br />researchers have proposed similar arguments in regard to soils - if you want to increase <br />vegetation diversity, you must reduce soil homogeneity. Unfortunately until just recently, most <br />mine reclamation regulations required uniform redistribution of topsoil materials that prevented <br />the mine operator from replacing soil at varying depths across the reclaimed landscape. Lack of <br />variation in reconstructed mine soils promotes uniformity of vegetation cover. Operationally at <br />various surface mines, soil homogeneity has occurred through the practice of mixing topsoil and <br />subsoil. <br />Reconstructed soil homogeneity is only one of several significant problems caused through the <br />salvage practice of mixing topsoil and subsoil. Organic materials are concentrated in the A soil <br />horizon and they act as a major nutrient pool and recycling center. In association with this <br />organic material and nutrient sink is found the majority of a soil's microbial and biologic <br />• Appendix G 1 06/28/02 <br />