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Keenesburg Mine 2015 Vegetation Monitoring Report <br />6.3 Reclamation Area 30 <br />Reclamation Area 30 is a 9.68 -acre parcel that was formerly part of the B Pit mining area. This <br />area was graded to blend into the undisturbed area to the west and the reclaimed mining and <br />operational areas to the east resulting in a gentle east -facing slope. Final revegetation seeding <br />with the DRMS-approved permanent seed mixture took place in November 2006. <br />6.3.1 Vegetation Cover <br />Total vegetation cover on Reclamation Area 30 averaged 33.6% (Table 7) which represents a <br />large decrease from the 46.8% observed in 2014. However, total native vegetation cover was <br />21.4% compared to 21.8% in 2014. When cheatgrass is removed from the average total cover the <br />value used to compare the Reclamation Area to the Success Standard is 24.4%. <br />The only species contributing to the cover in all 10 transects was cheatgrasss. This species <br />contributed 9.2% of the total vegetation cover and more than the two next most common species <br />combined. These species, sand bluestem and sand dropseed, are both native perennial warm <br />season grasses and they contributed 4.4% and 4.2% of the cover, respectively. <br />6.3.2 Herbaceous Production <br />Total herbaceous production within Reclamation Area 30 averaged 87.41 g/m2 (780 lbs/acre) in <br />2015 (Table 8). Annual forbs accounted for 46% of this production, while perennial grasses <br />accounted for 26%, annual grasses 25%, and perennial forbs 4%. Cheatgrass constituted 17% of <br />the total production and average total production without cheatgrass was 74.91 g/m2 (668 <br />lbs/acre). This value (without cheatgrass) was used to compare the Reclamation Area to the <br />Success Standard. <br />6.3.3 Species Composition <br />A total of seven life forms and 17 species contributed to the cover data (Table 7) with a total of <br />25 species encountered along the transects (Appendix A). Eleven grasses and six forbs <br />contributed to the cover data, 15 of which were native and two were introduced (Table 9). There <br />were 10 perennial species and seven annual species. Both warm and cool season grass species <br />contributed to the cover, with eight warm season species and only three cool season species. <br />Eight species contributed more than 3% of the relative cover (Table 7) including four warm <br />season perennial native grasses, one cool season annual native grass, one cool season annual <br />introduced grass, one annual introduced forb, and one annual native forb. These species in rank <br />order (highest to lowest) include: cheatgrass, sand dropseed, sand bluestem, Canadian <br />horseweed, prickly lettuce, prairie sandreed, and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). <br />Habitat Management, Inc. 12 October 2015 <br />