Problem: PHC-REC was contracted by Beal Mountain Mining, Inc. to revegetate the newly constructed leach pad cover in Southwestern Montana.  The revegetation activities were conducted in separate construction episodes in 2001and 2002 and totaled 70 acres.  The reclamation revegetation project involved ripping, fertilizing, pitting, seeding, and the application of pelletized mycorrhizal fungi spores (VAM) on the leach pad cover.
	Objective: The purpose of the project was to provide a vegetative cover and to control erosion.The left side of this photo illustrates a one year growth of vegetation on the 2001 reclamation area using the Pitter/VAM/Seed combination.  The right side of the photo illustrates what the area looked like prior to vegetation being established.  The rocky conditions, up to 3.0 feet in diameter, are typical of this leach pad cover surface.  The Pitter is capable of inoculating the soil with VAM, constructing pits, and seeding in these conditions.
	PHC Solutions: By using the Pitter/VAM seeding method, revegetation results would prove to be more productive as well as creating results in a much shorter amount of time than the traditional method of seeding.   The foreground of this photo shows vegetation establishment in 2003, nine months after VAM application and Pit seeding.  The background of the photo shows establishment of vegetation after two growing seasons.
	Results: This photo illustrates the successful establishment of vegetation on the leach pad cover after two years of growth (foreground of the photo) and three years of growth (background of the photo).  Vegetation is well established and no amendments have been required since initial reclamation. We illustrate here the difference between the usage of the Pitter/VAM seeding combination and traditional seeding methods (i.e. with no Pitter/VAM).  The left side of the photo shows revegetation results from 2002 reclamation that utilized the Pitter/VAM seeding method.  The right side of the photo shows revegetation results from 1999 reclamation results that did not incorporate Pitter/VAM seeding methods.  The Pitter/VAM seeding method resulted in a more productive vegetative stand in a much shorter amount of time than the traditional method of seeding provided. In addition to the Leach Pad revegetation project, PHC-REC also completed revegetation of a portion of the South Beal Pit.  The pit floor (7 acres) and a section of the highwall (3 acres) were reclaimed using the Pitter/VAM seeding combination.  The pit floor revegetation was the initial reclamation attempt and was completed by PHC-REC in 2002.  The highwall revegetation was conducted in areas of previously unsuccessful revegetation attempts that used traditional seeding methods.  The Pitter/VAM unit operated on steep (2.3 H : 1 V) slopes and was successful in establishing vegetation where previous traditional seeding methods failed.