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b. Annval Fora9c Production Annual production of this area was estimated by.thc Soil Conservation Service to be 2,500 pounds of air- dry forage during favorable years, 2,000 pounds during median years and 1,500 pounds of forage during m~favorable years. Precipitation during the past two years has been substantially bclo:v normal. Total production obtained during the sunvncr of 1977 revealed that 700 pounds of air- dry forage ~~~ere present on the reclaimed site. Although this figure is lower than pre-mining production figures, it must be pointed out that several factors help explain this low value. Precipitation in 1976 cans the driest year ir. nearly ten years and precipitation for 1977 was the-driest during the previous 3D years in this azea. Aside from the Climatic conditions, two .biotic constraints arced nn the seeded .stand to lower overall plant prodnction_ due to the ,,,;~ a k-inters enco~~Ed rnrer the past two pears, .abnormally hires populations of rabbits and rodents, specifically poeY.et gophers, have almost totally decimated the vegetation on this site. Since this area is unique in the fzct that it is an island of lush green forage nearl}• surrounded by d__ and probably overgrazed lands, such conditions are to be expected. It is unlikely that any suitable control meas:::es can be implemented to avoid this excessively high and unregulated form of grazing. c. Plant Density Counts In the field of range management, evaluation of -seeded stands is often determined based on the number of plants sampled per square foot. Studies in the Intermou-Cain Region in the eleven to thirteen-inch precipitation zone stands were rated excellent when.0.75 or more plants per square foot 'were sampled. In Northeastern Colorado, see~ings are considered successful when one or more plants were established per two feet of row, .two years after seeding. Density counts taken on this site by Energy Fuels indica.e the overfill density of the entire site in 1977 was 4.02 plants per square foot. Definitely, this figure indicates that the stand has become more than adequately stocked w; en judged by the criteria utilized in range reseeding. In summary, the standards that have been developed over the past 100 years of range reseeding research indicate that reclamation has been completed on this site is~ spite of soil, rodent and drought problems encountered and, there- fore, the request made by Energy Fuels to obtain a final bond release from this area should be granted.