. To insure compliance, a bond
was required. This law remained in effect for ten years. In 1951,
representatives of those same groups again sat down together and drafted
several amendments to the original act. Some grading is now required
where areas lie adjacent to public roads. Access roads must be provided
and areas to be devoted to pasture must be graded so that they can be
traversed with agricultural machinery.

Under this program, sponsored by Industry, the Farm Bureau, and the
Department of Conservation, 79% of the area that has been mined to date
has been successfully revegetated. The remaining 21% is a natural lag
and represents lands newly mined or areas that have not weathered to the
point where they will support revegetation. The demand for recreation
lands and home sites where water is available is constantly increasing.
At least 13% of the revegetated area is now being used for public
recreation or for home sites. Near the more heavily populated sections
the price commanded by mined territory containing good lakes often
exceeds the value of the land before it was mined.

These lakes, formed in the final cuts and in low lying areas of the
strip mines, furnish the only clean, clear water available for public
recreation and fishing in the south western part of the state.

The reforestation being carried on under the reclamation program
consists of planting several species of pines, as well as a large
variety of our native deciduous trees. The older plantations are being
used as a guide as the research started in the last eight years has not
progressed far enough to give conclusive results on many points. Until
the last few years the Agricultural Experiment Station has devoted
little or no time to the problem of reclaiming strip mine spoil. The
area of the state that is involved, less than 1/4 of 1%, has been too
small to justify the use of their limited funds. However, since funds
have been made available to that Station, through the Industry, to
establish research fellowships, the Station has given whole hearted
cooperation. The information being obtained through these fellowships
and through work being carried on cooperatively with the Central States
Forest Experiment Station is going to answer many of the questions on
reclamation we have been confronted with.

Included in our reforestation has been a liberal scattering of black
walnut. A breakdown of species is not available on much of the earlier
work