Tree planting in reclamation

While fifteen years ago we depended on trees as the primary tool of reclamation, today regulators, based on soil loss studies, have determined that trees are not sufficient to prevent erosion by themselves. This is particularly true during the first 10-15 years after mining. While ten (10) years ago most permits listed forest as a postmining land use, today only ten (10) percent o f our permits contain forest land as a postmining land use and a good many of those may modify their reclamation plan to eliminate the trees these plans now contain.