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Section 780.18 (b) Continued. Revised 11/20/80 Significantly, the Piceance Basin study employed a seeding rate lower than that proposed by Kerr Coal in Table 67a, Kerr Mine Area Seed Mixture. Transplanted shrubs will average approximately 200 plants per acre. Assuming only poor survival of the seeded and transplanted shrub species, reclaimed lands planted to the range- land mixture should nevertheless exhibit in excess of 2,000 plants per acre. These rates should provide ideal future habitat for wildlife and game species. The similarities of climate, soils, and vegetation encountered at the Kerr Mine Area with those reported by Howard and Samuel (1979) and Colorado State University (1979) increases the likelihood of achieving similar levels of shrub reestablishment at the Kerr Mine Area. Since the shrub densities reported by Howard and Samuel (1979) were identical for the Oak Creek site which receives 39.37 cm. of precipitation with the Kemmerer site which receives only 23.52 cm. of precipitation, it is believed that the Kerr Mine site which receives 24.95 cm. of precipitation and has a similar big sagebrush plant community is likely to yield values similar to that obtained at the Kemmerer Mine provided that freshly spread topsoil is spread. Ecological, climatic and edaphic conditions between the Kerr Mine Area with those encountered at the Piceance Basin study site used by Colorado State University are also remarkably close, Total forage production of the C.S.U, big sagebrush site is reported to be 526 pounds of air dry forage per acre while the big sagebrush sites at the Kerr Mine produces between 476 and 733 pounds of air dry forage per acre. Climatological similarities include the approximate total annual precipitation, 25 cm. for the Kerr Mine Area to 30 cm. for the .''4 Piceance Basin. At both sites growing season precipitation pre- ~~ 780-78 as