Disturbances of alpine and subalpine regions are increasing. They result from mining, pipeline and transportation corridor construction, tourism and other activities. Presently, there are no registered varieties of native grass species available for reclamation at high elevations. The Vegetation Branch of the Alberta Environmental Centre (AEC) has undertaken a program to select, test, develop and register lines of native alpine grasses for use in reclamation, erosion control and range improvement in alpine and subalpine regions of Alberta. Five native grass species with potential for use in reclamation were chosen for the breeding program: alpine bluegrass (Poa alpina), slender wheatgrass (Agropyron trachycaulum, including two varieties: var. trachycaulum and var. unilaterale), broadglumed wheatgrass (A. violaceum), spike trisetum (Trisetum spicatuni) and sheep fescue (Festuca saximontana). In 1984 and 1985, plants of each species were collected from 330 sites along the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains from the U.S. border to Jasper townsite. Collected plants were transplanted to field nurseries at AEC in Vegreville where initial selections were made. Final selections were based on the performance of the progeny of each plant. Initial testing of selected wheatgrass and alpine bluegrass lines was carried out at three locations (Vegreville, Columbia Icefields and Sunshine Village) using transplanted and seeded trials. Several selected lines of each species performed well in these trials, often yielding better than standard check varieties. At higher elevations, the selected lines did especially well when compared to the checks. Based on data collected from these trials, seven lines of wheatgrass and eight lines of alpine bluegrass were selected for further testing in multilocation trials at Vegreville, Beaverlodge, Mountain Park and Columbia Icefields prior to registration of the best line(s). Sheep fescue and spike trisetum also show promise as potential reclamation grasses but more work is required before lines of these species are ready for final testing,