Location: Northeastern Colorado

In north-eastern Colorado the recent discovery of significant oil and gas resources has led to unprecedented localized and distributed disturbances to the shortgrass steppe ecosystem. These disturbances are often the focal point of weed invasion and persistence. It is safe to speculate that oil and gas activity in eastern Colorado will increase in the coming years as will the need for efficient restoration practices. In addition to energy development, millions of hectares of arid and semiarid rangeland in the western United States have been subjected to cultivation during the past 150 years due to the availability of abundant irrigation water. In eastern Colorado, many of these farms have recently been abandoned because growing cities are purchasing irrigation water for municipal use. As these cultivated lands are de-watered they are being returned to use as rangeland. The rapid transformation of vast areas of rangeland into areas disturbed by energy development combined with the abandonment of irrigated agriculture has created dramatic ecological, cultural and economic change to many parts of eastern Colorado and surrounding regions. Thus it is imperative to find approaches that rapidly repair damaged lands and return them to areas capable of providing ecosystem goods and services for improved quality of life to local residents.

The objective of this study is to determine an optimal seed mix diversity level and corresponding seeding rate for reclamation purposes on the shortgrass steppe.  Success of the treatments will be gauged by measurements of percent vegetative cover, presence of non-native and noxious species, and vegetation biomass.  Since a variety of diverse seed mixes will be tested, we will be able to explore the utility of native species seldom, if ever, currently used in restoration seed mixes.  This study seeks to find approaches that are applicable to a variety of sites across the region in order to be useful on a management scale.  From this study, we hope to make recommendations to public and private industries about ideal seeding rates and seed mixes for restoration activities for surface disturbances such as oil and gas exploration.