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Production in the wheat cropland type will be evaluated by measuring grain production or using operators <br />records in the reclaimed area and comparing it to the current county average wheat producton figures <br />determined from Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) records for Routt County. <br />The reclaimed wheat cropland will be sampled separately from the adjacent wheat cropland. Unit area <br />harvest data will be collected from the reclaimed area to determine wheat production comparison values. <br />Reclamation shall be considered successful when production equals at least 90 percent of the current <br />county average with 90 percent statistical confidence. Because cropland in the area is summer fallowed, <br />the last two consecutive growing seasons for production measurements will be in years 8 and 10 of the <br />extended liability period. <br />Species Diversity <br />Since the time that the diversity standards for the original II -W permit and the South Extension <br />Area were proposed, a more comprehensive consideration of the nature of plant diversity on <br />reclaimed areas as compared to un -mined areas (reference areas) has been completed. The result is <br />the set of proposed standards below: <br />Background: The bulk of reclamation sites have used a seeding strategy that emphasized grasses to assure <br />adequate erosion control, and even when those grasses are native species, the competitive advantage of <br />this lifeform over fortis and woody plants is evident at many mine locations. In the short and medium <br />term, it seems unavoidable that species diversity will be less than that of most un -mined comparison sites <br />(or baseline conditions). <br />This is not because of faulty seed mixes, or poor seeding technique, or any particular short- coming of <br />planting a regraded/topsoiled site. One of the lessons of the large -scale experiment represented by mine <br />revegetation since the late 1970's is that given decent topsoil and reasonably favorable moisture <br />conditions, the presence of species other than grasses is not subject to a "plant them and they will come" <br />direct approach. Rather, the circumstances that lead (or have lead in the pre - existing vegetation) to the <br />opportunity for the firm establishment of these other lifeforms and species are probably themselves <br />diverse and (at least until we understand more) non - constructible. <br />One of the interesting insights gained from sequential annual visits to Reference Areas is that even within <br />established long -term native vegetation, there is fluctuation of the presence of species. In <br />PR -06 50 Revised 10/11 <br />