ABSTRACT
To help design effective mining and land conservation measures, it is useful to examine programs which have been adopted by other industrial nations faced with similar problems. In general, the land restoration program has been largely successful and strip-mining is no longer a controversial public issue in Germany. The Federal Republic of Germany is fortunate to possess large reserves of brown coal to serve in electric power production and possibly as a raw material for producing synthetic fuels. If reclamation occurs in late fall or early winter so that crops cannot be planted at once, special measures must be taken to prevent surface hardening due to winter precipitation. The recultivation of mined lands furnishes a unique opportunity to sculpture the new landscape to meet the recreational needs of the people as well as to serve the interests of commerce, industry, and agriculture.
