FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
OMB APPROVAL
OMB Number: 3235-0104
Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5

(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Mehan Richard R.
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
03/10/2009		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INC. [CLF]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
LEVEL 12, THE QUADRANT, 1 WILLIAM STREET		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
SVP, Pres. & CEO Cliffs Asia-P
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

PERTH, C3 6000		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock 18,604 (1)
D
 

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Retention Units 2007-2009   (2)   (2) Common Shares 600 $ (3) D  
Retention Units 2008-2010   (4)   (4) Common Shares 800 $ (3) D  
Retention Units 2009-2011   (5)   (5) Common Shares 1,225 $ (3) D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Mehan Richard R.
LEVEL 12, THE QUADRANT
1 WILLIAM STREET
PERTH, C3 6000		       SVP, Pres. & CEO Cliffs Asia-P  

Signatures

George W. Hawk, Jr. by Power of Attorney 03/30/2009
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) The number of securities held by the reporting person consists of 18,604 common shares previously acquired through the Cleveland-Cliffs Inc 1992 Incentive Equity Plan (as Amended and Restated May 13, 1997).
(2) Retention Units granted to Reporting Person under the Cleveland-Cliffs Inc 2007 Incentive Equity Plan ("2007 Plan") covering the period of January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009 (Retention Period). Retention units are paid out to the Reporting Person in cash based on the market value price of the Common Shares of the Issuer on the last day of the Retention Period.
(3) Convertible into Common Shares on a 1-for-1 basis.
(4) Retention Units granted to Reporting Person under the 2007 Plan covering the period of January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010 (Retention Period). Retention units are paid out to the Reporting Person in cash based on the market value price of the Common Shares of the Issuer on the last day of the Retention Period.
(5) Retention Units granted to Reporting Person under the 2007 Plan covering the period of January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2011 (Retention Period). Retention units are paid out to the Reporting Person in cash based on the market value price of the Common Shares of the Issuer on the last day of the Retention Period.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, See Instruction 6 for procedure.

Potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB number.