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nature of the canopy cover of the trees as well as the clumped distribution of shrubs, grasses and fortis. Similarly, t he probability of achieving an adequate sample for production with 50 plots or less is extremely low because of the paucity of herbaceous understory, also because many of the herbaceous species present in the pinon-juniper understory are weedy annual species and the reclamation plan does not address the restoration of weedy species, the value of obtaining an adequate sample for this type of herbaceous understory is dubious. Similarly in the mixed shrub vegetation type, the probability of obtaining an adequate sample for production with 50 plots is difficult because of the lack of herbaceous production in the understory. An adequate sample for both vegetative and total cover was obtained because of the uniform distribution of gambel oak in the area. • The pinon-juniper affected area compares reasonably well with the area. selected for the reference area (Tables 3 and 4). Vegetation cover and especi- ally total cover compare very well. There are some variations, however, between the two in production and total tree and shrub density. The affected area occurs on more level terrain than the reference area and as such has probably been continually disturbed by livestock grazing, thus introducing habitat for annual species which comprise the majority of the cover and produc- tion. This may account for the difference in production between the affected area and the reference area. The reference area, however, was chosen to be representative of the mine site as a whole and not just the proposed affected area for waste disposal. Range Condition - The pinon juniper reference and affected areas occur within a woodland type description for pinon juniper as described by Soil • Conservation Services (SCS) technician guidelines. This determination was -27-