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Young shrub plants are highly desirable browse for deer and elk. Since the reclaimed lands are located in <br />heavily used wildlife habitat, the deer and elk are drawn to the wide open fields of reclamation. To determine <br />the impact of wildlife browsing, half of each treatment was fenced. <br />With the reduced seeding rate and the lack of aggressive species that establish quickly it was necessary to <br />consider erosion control on the treatment plots. Surface roughening using a dozer to create depressions was <br />included on several of the treatments. This treatment slows erosion and the depressions create microhabitats <br />that may enhance shrub establishment. <br />These demonstration plots are large-scale plots constructed with standard reclamation equipment to test <br />shrub establishment techniques that will have commercial practicality. At each mine, six treatments are being <br />evaluated. The treatments vary slightly between mines to accommodate the reclamation techniques and <br />material availability at each mine. Test plots for each treatment range in size from 100 x 100 ft at the Seneca <br />Mine to 60 x 1000 ft at the Colowyo Mine. All seeded plots were drillseeded using standard equipment. At <br />Colowyo Mine, no chains or other devises were used behind the drill. This was done to create a broad range <br />of conditions from buried seed to seed laying on the surface. <br />Colowyo Mine <br />The test plots at Colowyo are located in the East Pit, Section 11 area (UTM 13T 261304 4458557) at an <br />average elevation of 7480 feet. The selected site for the test plots has a northeast aspect. The plots are located <br />adjacent to each other in one contiguous block. Each treatment measures 60 ft wide and 1000 ft long (Figure <br />1). To alleviate soil compaction caused by scraper and truck traffic on the plots, the non-topsoiled plots were <br />ripped with a motor grader to a depth of 15 to 25 cm. After ripping, the nontopsoiled plots and the 15 cm <br />topsoil plots were chisel plowed to smooth the areas. The study area was then fertilized with 11-52-0 fertilizer <br />at a rate of 375 lbs per acre. After fertilization, the entire study area was chisel plowed to incorporate the <br />fertilizer. A description of each treatment is presented below. <br />1. 18 inches (46 cm) of live-haul topsoil over spoil with strip seeding. The strip seeding included a strip <br />of native shrubs and native low-competitive forbs that alternated with a strip of native grasses, fortis, and <br />shrubs. The seed mixtures for this treatment are presented in Tables 1 and 2. The Table 1 mixture was <br />placed in the left grass box of the rangeland drill, and the Table 2 mix was placed in the right grass box. <br />2. 6 inches (15 cm) of live haul topsoil over spoil and seeded with native shrubs and low competitive <br />native forbbs. Surface manipulations included to enhance soil moisture conditions. The seed mixture for <br />this treatment is presented in Table 1. <br />3. 6 inches (15 cm) of live-haul topsoil over spoil, strip seeded as described in No. 1 above. <br />4. Non-topsoiled spoil, strip seeded as described in No. 1 above. <br />5. Non-topsoiled spoil seeded with relatively unpalatable native shrubs, low-competitive native forbs, <br />and low-competitive native grasses. See Table 3 for the seed mixture used in this treatment. <br />Construction of the plots was conducted in the summer of 2000 (Figure 2) and seeding was completed in <br />October 2000. Fencing of half the study area was completed in the spring of 2002. <br />Figure 1. Shrub establishment demonstration plots at Colowyo mine. <br />Figure 2. Demonstration plot construction at ColoWyo mine during 2000. <br />0