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Section 780.18 (b) Plan for Determining Revegetation Success The ultimate success of revegetation will be evaluated utilizing cover and production standards based on data collected from approved references areas combined with baseline data for the Salt Flat vegetation type. Shrub density and vegetative diversity will be evaluated using standards specifically negotiated with the DMG. Reclaimed site data addressing the parameters of total plant cover and herbaceous production, species diversity, and shrub densities will be collected and compared with appropriate standards to evaluate revegetation success. For the Kerr mine area, the reference area standard will be calculated based on data collected from the four 141 reference areas during years nine and ten of the reclamation liability period combined with baseline data for the Salt Flat vegetation type. A weighted average will be calculated based upon the relative acreage of each plant community disturbed over the mine life. For the Kerr loadout area, the reclamation data will be compared directly with the reference area standard. Statistical equivalency of total cover and herbaceous production values between reclaimed and reference area(sl, or the weighted average based on reference area data will 6e calculated using aone-tailed t test (MLRB Land Use and Vegetation Guideline, 1988) to determine if there is a 90 percent probability that mean sample values for reclaimed areas exceed 90 percent of the applicable cover and production standards. It should be noted that pre-law disturbance areas (those areas seeded prior to August 3, 1977) will only be subject to a vegetative cover standard, with cover sufficient to control erosion. The species diversity standard for the Kerr Mine Area was addressed by a permit stipulation in 1982. This standard was approved by the MLRD and established a reclaimed area species diversity standard with the four 14) dominant plant species comprising no more than 83 percent and no single species comprising more than 40 percent of the total species composition. At least one (1) of the four (4) dominant plant species shall be either a shrub or a forb. Species diversity on the Kerr loadout area will be based upon the standard negotiated at the time of the 1984 Mid-Term Permit Review. This standard is based upon percent composition as defined by cover, and specifies that species diversity for final reclamation will be deemed acceptable when the three 13) dominant species on the TR-19 780-84a Revised 12/99