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Show PART III CURRENT WATERSHED CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS, AND EFFECTS OF PROBLEMS Accelerated erosion on poorly constructed forest road Accelerated water erosion on forest land is mainly related to soil disturbance caused by overgrazing, mining, fire, and road or trail con- struction. Rangeland is affected by both accelerated water and vind erosion. Sheet, rill, and gully erosion are more widespread than wind erosion on rangeland. Mining activities in the past have contributed to accelerated ero- sion on forest and range land by trail and road construction. Forest and range cover were also disturbed. The acreage directly affected by placer and strip mining operations was small, however, the mining opera- tions destroyed the soil and vegetation. This left the land surface rough, gravelly or stony, and unusable. At present some mining companies include minimum land restoration (smoothing and planting of spoil piles) as part of their strip-mining operations, but these practices, commend- able as they are, fall considerably short of treating the land so ttiat it may be eventually restored by nature, or at least in part, to its former productivity. |