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standards for reclaimed areas therefore seems unreasonable, and establishing the approved <br />species on the approved acreage should be considered satisfactory. The exclusion from <br />quantitative revegetation standards for roads, water bodies, and rock piles can and should be <br />extended to other small diversity enhancing features. <br />SUMMARY <br />The following are a sample of strategies that have been (or could be) employed by coal mine <br />operators and regulatory authorities in an attempt to increase post -mine diversity and the <br />achievement of the post -mine land use: <br />Reclamation Plans <br />1. Create dramatic variations in soils to enhance horizontal diversity using chemical and <br />physical soil properties. <br />2. Vary soil depths according to topographic position and aspect and tailor seed mixes to soil <br />depths as previously described. Consider hydrologic properties of various landscape <br />positions and their contribution to post -mine diversity. <br />3. Use specialized seed mixes of saline- or alkali- adapted species on reclaimed areas having <br />marginally suitable spoil within the root zone. <br />4. Avoid soil laydown on erosion control terraces and transplant shrubs directly in spoil. The <br />terraces concentrate soil moisture, and soil is deposited from adjacent slopes over time. The <br />temporary absence of topdressing favors shrub establishment. Small depressions provide <br />similar advantages for vegetation requiring mesic soils. <br />5. Create ledges, outcrops, and talus slopes. These features do not have to be particularly high <br />or extensive to provide habitat diversity for plants and animals. Ten to fifteen -foot relief is <br />ample, and even ledges that are three or four feet tall can trap snow and provide burrowing <br />sites. The key to incorporating these features during reclamation is to permit opportunistic <br />construction where competent rock is available. <br />6. Expand the seeding window to allow early spring and late fall seedings. Designate substitute <br />species and seeding rate ranges, so that operators can take advantage of, rather than be <br />troubled by, variations in weather, soil moisture, topdressing and seed bank sources (e.g., <br />stockpiled or live - hauled, weedy or pristine), and seed availability. <br />7. Make reclamation plans flexible by describing methods to be applied to and take advantage <br />of certain regraded landforms rather than using maps. Minimize the need for permit <br />modifications. <br />8. Be patient whenever non-uniform reclamation is attempted. Establishment of the desired <br />species often takes three to five years harsher sites. <br />Regulatory Considerations <br />1. Encourage the use of soil substitute materials at any time rather than when there is a deficit <br />of topsoil. These materials are often more coarse textured and skeletal, and can be used to <br />armor slopes or replicate paralithic/torric soil conditions. <br />2. Revisit spoil/soil suitability standards and have them capture more of the variability found in <br />premine soils. Keck and Wraith (1996) suggest that clear distinctions be made in suitability <br />criteria between properties that severely limit plant growth or present environmental hazards <br />and those that represent the normal variability found in native soil landscapes. Allow for a <br />