We evaluated various methods of establishing native warm season grasses on two reclaimed Eastern Kentucky mines from 1994 -1997. Most current reclamation practices incorporate the use of tallfescue (Festuca arundinacea) and other cool-season grasses/legumes that provide little wildlife habitats. The use of native warm season grasses will likely improve wildlife habitat on reclaimed strip mines. Objectives of this study were to compare the feasibili1y of establishing these grasses during fall, winter, or spring using a native rangeland seeder or hydroseeding; a fertilizer application at planting; or cold-moist stratification prior to hydroseeding. Vegetative cover, bare ground, species richness, and biomass samples were collected at the end of each growing season. Native warm season grass plantings had higher plant species richness compared to cool-season reclamation mixtures. There was no difference in establishment of native warm season grasses as a result of fertilization or seeding technique. Winter native warm season grass plantings had higher vegetative cover compared to spring seeded plots. Fall native warm season grass plantings were failures and cold-moist stratification did not increase plant establishment during any season. As a result of a drought during 1997, both cool-season and warm season plantings were failures. Cool-season reclamation mixtures had significantly more vegetative cover and biomass compared to native warm season grass mixtures and the native warm season grass plantings did not meet vegetative cover requirements for bond release. Forbs and legumes that established well included pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pal/ida)

The Flight 93 National Memorial is located in Somerset Co., near Shanksville, PA. The site was surfaced mined and much of the 890 ha of reclaimed land was re-contoured and seeded in the mid 1990's. Starting in the spring 2012, the National Park Service, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and others have worked to reforest sections of the total area using native woody trees and shrubs. Each spring for the past six years (2012-17) over 500 volunteers planted a new section, which we have defined as a "Phase," of the National Memorial. The Flight 93 National Memorial Reforestation Project was established to evaluate reforestation success and provide data to drive future management decisions. Specifically, this work aims to: O1) Determine abundance and percent stocking for each of the 34 native, woody species planted across the six Phases; O2) evaluate growth of woody plants; and O3) describe level of competing vegetation across each phase. Two hundred and sixteen permanent, fixed radius plots were established randomly throughout the six planting phases with the goal to maintain a minimum target sampling intensity of 10%. Percent stocking, growth, and deer browse data were collected for all planted trees and shrubs within the sampling plots. Competition data was collected using 1 m 2 rectangular sub-plots nested within whole-plot. Of the 102,393 trees and shrubs (1,792 trees ha-1) planted at The Flight 93 National Memorial we sampled a total of 8,673 individual trees and shrubs. Total percent stocking across all six planting Phases was 74.5% ranging from 40-121% within individual Phases, with natural regeneration driving stocking levels above 100% in one of the planting phases. Greatest plant growth was observed in the conifer species with white pine and pitch pine driving this pattern. Among the deciduous trees we observed the greatest growth among the early successional species such as quaking aspen and black locust. Overall, 88% of all plants showed no sign of deer browse, however, this rate is expected to increase as the plants emerge above the competing vegetation. Competing vegetation across all six planting phases was dominated by grasses, sedges, and herbaceous dicots and constitutes the largest limitation to woody plant establishment.