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INTRODUCTION <br />In November 2005, ESCO Associates Inc. conducted quantitative assessments of the extent of <br />shrub presence in nine shrub concentration planting areas at the Seneca Coal Company Seneca <br />II-W Mine in Routt County, Colorado. These areas had been planted with high concentrations of <br />shrub seed or shrub nursery stock in accordance with provisions of the permit documents. The <br />intention of these plantings was to achieve higher levels of shrub presence than would otherwise <br />be likely to have resulted from the reclaimed area-wide reclamation. In the latter general <br />reclamation, experience at this and other nearby mines had shown that the inclusion of shrub <br />along with other plant seed tended to produce relatively few shrubs because the competition from <br />herbaceous plants, especially grasses, was overwhelmingly oppressive. Consequently, to <br />varying extents, herbaceous planting has been de-emphasized in the shrub concentration <br />planting blocks examined here. <br />METHODS <br />' Reclamation Units and Sampling Locations <br />' The shrub concentration blocks sampled at the Seneca IIW Mine in 2004 are shown on Map 1 <br />"2004 Shrub Concentration Block Monitoring Locations'. <br />Woody Plant Density Sampling <br />Woody plant density samples were collected along 50 m transects randomly oriented and <br />radiating from the points shown on Map 1. All shrubs and subshrubs with root crowns located <br />within the boundaries of 2 X 50 m quadrats (belt transects) were tallied according to species and <br />life stages as either seedling, mature, or dead. The presence of dead individuals was recorded <br />but did not contribute to woody plant density calculations. <br />RESULTS <br />The shrub density data from the field sampling are present in Tables 1 through 9. <br />