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Statistical Analysis Evaluation of revegetation establishment and success was accomplished through a comparison of the reclaimed azea mean total vegetative cover with the reclamation success standard set forth in the CDMG findings document. This is consistent with the recommendations of the Division of Minerals and Geology in their 1988 Guidelines for Comnliance with Land Use and Vegetation Requirements of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Minine. Analysis of quantitative relative cover data derived from quantitative total cover information provided the basis for assessment of species composition. III. Results and Discussion Reclaimed Area Description The 4.1-acre permit area's vegetation consists mainly of three types: Mountain Shrub, Introduced Pasture, and traces of Piiion-Juniper. These vegetation types occur within the mine azea at elevations ranging from 7,360 feet to 7,680 feet. The Natural Resource Conservation Service in the Rocky Foothills range site description corresponding to the Zau Stony Loam complex indicates this site has an optimum ground cover of 25 to 30 percent. The average annual precipitation in this area is approximately 20 inches. Additionally, the type and amount of vegetation vazies with differences in slope, exposure, and soil depth. Statistical Comparison of Reclaimed Areas The collection of statistically adequate data for the parameter of vegetation cover allows the statistical evaluation for compliance with the revegetation success criteria of the mining and reclamation permit. The revegetation success criterion for cover and production was established by CDMG in the permit approval findings document. The cover standard is 30 percent. The document does not specify the components of the cover standard, whether total ground cover or total vegetation cover is intended as the standard. However, the cover composition must be made up of two warm season grasses, two cool season grasses, two forbs, and two shrubs, with no single species represented by more than 40 percent relative cover or less than three percent relative cover. The production standard is 500 pounds per acre. Cover Twenty individual species representing three lifeforms were encountered during the sampling of the reclaimed azea. They included graminoids, forbs, and woody shrubs. The plant species observed during cover analysis and their characteristics are presented in Table 1. The total mean vegetation cover of the reclaimed area was 35.3 percent. Based on cover sampling graminoids represented 30.3 percent mean cover (85.8 percent 6