Abstract.--Emissions from two zinc smelters in Carbon County, PA, over an 80-year_ period caused the defoliation of nearby Blue Mountain. High levels of so 2 slowly killed off the existing oak-chestnut forest and particulate metals built to very high levels in the soil. Current metals levels in the soil are as high as t,300 ppm Cd; 6,474 ppm Pb; and 32,085 ppm Zn. These high levels have stopped microbial activity, and there has been no decomposition or regeneration for decades. The site is now on the EPA Superfund clean-up list. Both physical and chemical problems with the eroded soil need to be addressed to reclaim this site. The hypothesis tested was to use mixtures of sludge and fly ash, lime and potash to revegetate the site using metals-tolerant ecotypes of herbaceous species.