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• REESTABLISIi`f[;NT OF SHF:UBS AT THE TRAPPER MINE by H. B. Hump}iries, W. E. Sowards, 6 L. W, Iienderson Statement of the Problem Regulations subsequent to the Federal Surface h:iuing Cont.r.~l and Reclamation Act of 1977 and the Colorado Surface Coal Afining Reclamation: Act of 1479, require coal mine operators to reestablish woody plants shrubs) t;o a density at least 90X of the density on an approved reference area. The: Colorado regulations allow for a variance f;om the reference area standard if v;*_ can be shown that a greater or lesser shrub density will better sevve the post-mining land use. Because there is little information quantifying the influrences of shrub densi- ties on rangeland utility, it is difficult to justify and diefine a variance even when the need is obvious. • Shrubs ate generally replaced on mined lands wildlife. Any shrub reclamation standard, ho consideration for not only wildlife habitat, well, i.e agriculture and watershed. In many equally serve all post-mining land uses with a to provide forage and cover for sever, should: be established with but other us3es of rangelands as instances, it is not possible to given shrub cBensity standard. In the past, shrub density standards have frequently been s;et to either reflect pre-mine vegetation conditions or to optimize wildlife use:. These approaches fail Co consider if [he pre-mine conditions were optimum fo~c wildlife and ignore how shrub densities influence other rangeland uses. In the? first approach, the objective becomes the reestablishment of the pre-mine plant communities and not necessarily the establishment of vegetation that best serves the post-mining land use. In the second instance, the reclamation is desigmed for a single land use, i.e. wildlife habitat. The need to select proper shrub reclamation standards is madle more acute by the high costs of establishing shrubs. At Utah International Ln:c's Trapper Mine • -1-