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The US Air Force trains with live munitions on a desert range west of Salt Lake City, Utah. They are committed to ecological restoration on lands damaged by resultant fire. However, revegetation is challenging due to low average annual rainfall of 25 cm. The US Air Force trains with live munitions on a desert range west of Salt Lake City, Utah. They are committed to ecological restoration on lands damaged by resultant fire. However, revegetation is challenging due to low average annual rainfall of 25 cm. Applications of surface coir mulch or subsurface polyacrylamide (PAM) were evaluated to determine the effects on establishment of crested wheatgrass, yellow sweet clover, Wyoming big sagebrush, forage kochia, Lewis flax, and bottlebrush squirreltail under glasshouse conditions. Seeds were planted in a loam soil and then watered once to saturation. For the mulch trial, seeds were planted in 79 cm2 pots. All species had greater emergence with 310 g mulch m2�ranging from 56% to >500% increase and with wheatgrass, Wyoming big sagebrush, Lewis flax, and bottlebrush squirreltail seedlings living 2-3 days longer. For the PAM trial, seeds were planted at the bottom of a furrow in 0.13 m2 boxes with 0.04 m between top of the ridge and bottom of the furrow and 0, 20, or 40 g PAM band-1 applied at 0.08 m below soil surface in the furrow, with 0.03 m of soil below the band. Each species was planted separately in a row perpendicular to the furrow. Beginning at 8 days after planting, volumetric soil moisture in the furrow was 200 and 500% greater than the control at 20 and 40 g PAM, respectively, on day 21. Lewis flax, yellow sweet clover, crested wheatgrass, and forage kochia lived 10, 12, 13, and 23 days longer than the control for the 40 g treatment. Both of these treatments have promise for success in limited acreage plantings, although further studies are needed to evaluate mulch/PAM combinations with seeding rate reductions to avoid excessive competition.