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• surface mine lands. Our previous research found that fencing to prevent grazing, control <br />of competing vegetation, and sufficient water availability are critical factors for insuring <br />adequate survival and growth of planted aspen trees. This study tested the effectiveness <br />of commercially available techniques used in high volume planting systems, adapted to <br />account for the critical factors identified in our previous research. These questions were <br />investigated in experiments conducted on reclaimed Seneca Coal Company land south <br />of Hayden, CO. The previous study was conducted on the Seneca IIW mine with aspen <br />trees transplanted from the Seneca Yoast mine (Figure 1). The current study examined if <br />standard tree planting techniques and equipment used for machine planting of trees for <br />farming, conservation, and reforestation, as recommended by the Colorado State Forest <br />Nursery and other state forest nurseries, was advantageous to the growth and survival <br />of aspen trees and serviceberry shrubs on mine reclamation sites. The method can be <br />used as a cost - effective way to reproduce woody perennial vegetation on large areas of <br />reclaimed lands. The experiment was conducted on reclaimed sites on the Seneca Coal <br />• Company Yoast and IIW mines. Mining activity has been discontinued at both mines and <br />both are being re- vegetated. <br />Figure 1. Map of study area, showing Seneca Coal Company IIW and Yoast <br />plantings, south of Hayden, CO. <br />• <br />