ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates there is great potential for reclaimed mines to be important areas for the conservation of many trophic levels of biological diversity. Invasive and naturalized species create barriers for native recruitment by altering nutrient cycles, water tables, and soil microbial communities from their natural condition. Strip mining not only removes existing vegetation, it also alters the soil profile and reduces soil microbes, leaving organic carbon-poor soils. Grassland birds have been the focus of numerous conservation efforts in the face of habitat loss and increasing nest predation. As with grassland bird habitat, Ingold states that if reclaimed surface mines are to maintain healthy populations of winter raptors, it will be important to control the encroachment of woody vegetation. Bobcats select woodland interspersed with openings, which create cover and a wider prey base, which is consistent with the habitat variables of The Wilds. Bears, like bobcats, select a mixture of woodlands and openings.
