The purpose of this creative project was to derive and present recommendations for the reclamation of an Indiana sand, gravel, and stone quarry from barren land to productive wildlife habitat. Existing knowledge and technology in the fields of wildlife ecology and land reclamation were explored and applied to a case study site near Muncie, Indiana. The component features of good wildlife habitat were defined, and methods of analyzing the site for habitat quality were devised. Strategies for creating optimum conditions for wildlife on a site devastated by aggregate mining were developed. The final product of the study was a site plan showing recommended development for productive floral and faunal communities. All methods, processes, and decisions were documented in written and graphic form. / Department of Landscape Architecture

Cottontail rabbit, Sylvilagus floridanus, utilization of 16 artificial burrows was studied during the winters of 1976-1977 and 1977-1978. The burrows were located in Delaware County, Indiana, in four vegetative cover types including ungrazed deciduous forest, fescue grassland, wildlife plantings, and multiflora rose hedgerow. Each burrow consisted of a lay-up chamber made from the upper portion of a 55-gallon steel drum set on top of the ground. Two entrances made of slotted plastic drainage pipe extended in opposite directions. Soil was filled around the burrows and over the entrance tunnels. Cottontails found in the burrows were captured, marked by ear tagging, sexed, weighed, measured and released.Burrow utilization was noted in each cover type with greatest usage occurring in the multiflora rose hedgerow and in the forest. Snow cover and low ambient air temperature seemed to be the two most important factors contributing to burrow usage.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306