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INTRODUCTION <br />There is a need for an increased knowledge of the biology and methods for establishment of woody plants on <br />disturbed lands in mountain shrub zones of the Rocky Mountains. This region contains many economically <br />important natural resources including minerals, wildlife, water, timber, forage, recreational opportunities, and <br />food. The development of these resources often leads to degradation of plant communities, which may <br />require restoration efforts. In the Rocky Mountains, where mineral extraction is an important part of local <br />economies, the restoration of mountain shrub communities on mined lands is an important and difficult task. <br />Areas of coal extraction in the Rocky Mountains often occur in habitats of shrubby vegetation that are <br />referred to as "mountain brush" or "mountain shrub". This is an important habitat type in much of the <br />Rocky Mountains because big game is concentrated in mountain shrublands during winter periods. The <br />quality of these habitats is often the key determinant of the ecosystem carrying capacity for big game <br />population (Wallmo et al. 1976). Mountain shrublands also serve as habitat for a wider variety of wildlife <br />including threatened Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and sage grouse. Mountain shrubland species such as <br />bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.) and mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus <br />montanus) are some of the most palatable North American plant genera for big game, while sagebrush <br />(Artemisia tridentata) is less palatable but among the most important browse species due to its abundance and <br />availability (Merrill 1971). <br />The mountain shrub plant association is widespread in the Rocky Mountain region from western Colorado <br />through Utah and Nevada and from western Wyoming south to northern Arizona. Mountain shrublands <br />typically occur above valley and foothill sagebrush or pinyon-juniper communities and below montane <br />conifer or aspen (Populus tremuloides) forests. These mountain shrub communities are diverse and vary in <br />species composition with elevation, aspect, soils, and disturbance history. Despite the wide diversity of <br />• mountain shrub habitat types, there are relatively few dominant shrub species found in this vegetation type. <br />Notable among these common shrubs are big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, mountain mahogany, <br />Saskatoon serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), black chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), snowberry <br />(Symphoricarpos sp.), maple (Acer sp.), and Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) (Terwilliger 1978, Tiedeman and <br />Terwilliger 1978, Hoffmann 1979, Hoffman and Alexander 1980, Hess 1982, Hoffman and Alexander 1983, <br />Alexander 1985, Hess and Alexander 1986, Alexander 1987, Banner 1992, Colorado Natural Areas Program <br />1998). <br />On surface-mined lands in Rocky Mountain shrublands, the establishment of woody plants at densities <br />required for bond release, and within the ten-year liability period, has proven to be very difficult (Mathews <br />and Savage 1990). This difficulty arises from numerous factors including grazing and browsing pressures, <br />competition from other plant species, short growing season, lack of seeds or planting stock and, a lack of <br />technical information regarding the cost-effective methods for establishing shrubs on disturbed lands. <br />Over the years many attempts have been made to reestablish the native shrubs that dominate a majority of <br />the mined lands in western Colorado. These techniques included transplanting native shrub islands, planting <br />shrub seeds with the standard reclamation mix, transplanting small shrub tubelings, and strip seeding rows of <br />shrub seed between the reclamation mix. The results of these attempts were inconsistent and variable. The <br />purpose of this project is to evaluate shrub establishment techniques at three coal mine sites within mountain <br />shrub habitats in northwestern Colorado. In addition to being a tool for evaluating state-of-the-art <br />techniques, demonstration plots established by this project are to serve as continuing examples of possible <br />long-term outcomes from these various shrub establishment methods. These plots might thus serve as an <br />example of what is, or is not feasible for shrub establishment in these habitats. <br />•