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2.0 Methods. . 2.4 Plant Species Collection and Identification. . ecologists conducting the study and confirmed by Dr. William A. Weber, Curator of the Herbarium, University of Colorado. Taxonomic nomenclature follows Weber and Johnston (1979). Nickerson et al. (1976) and Beetle (1970) were consulted in an attempt to apply the most widely utilized common names. Noxious weed designators follow Thornton et al. (1974). Statements of origin follow Weber and Johnston (1979). Voucher specimens from the 1982 study have been preserved in a reference collection and are available to Dorchester Coal at any time. 2.5 Cover Sampling Vegetation cover was estimated using a point-intercept method along randomly located and oriented transects (Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg 1974). Fifty data points were sampled along a 50 m transect. Paired points were located on opposite sides of the transect, at 2 m intervals and 0.5 m from the transect line. For purposes of evaluating statistical adequacy, each transect (i.e., fifty data points) comprised one "sample." A siting device was rigidly mounted on an adjustable tripod to facilitate vertical orientation and point stabilization. The siting device was equipped with fine cross-hairs to facilitate precise point definition. At each sample point, the first hit or interception along a vertical projec- tion (upward first if overstory vegetation were present) was recorded as vegetation (by species), rock, soil, or litter. Vegetation intercepted below the first hit was recorded separately as second or third hits. Species present in the immediate area of the sample transect but not actually hit during sampling are indicated by a "P" (present) in .the cover data tables. Species outside the immediate area of the sample transect and not detected in the quantitative inventory are noted by a "PT" (present in type) in the data tables.