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The increase in total vegetation cover is directly related to the increased precipitation prior to the growing season. The magnitude of the general increase in total vegetation cover is dominated by two species of the community (Bromus inermis and Conwlwlus arvensis), and individual increases or decreases in total (and relative) cover or are more than offset by the 250 percent increase in the number of species providing cover in the 1997 sampling. Increases in species numbers also appear directly related to increased precipitation (Savage and Savage, 1995, 1995a, 1995b) in both reclaimed and native vegetation communities. Total herbaceous production also showed an increase from 1996 to 1997. Total herbaceous production rose from 127.71 g/mz in 1996 to 184.94 g/m2 in 1997. This 44.8 percent rise appears related to increased precipitation prior to the growing season in 1997. Notably, plants appeared to reach anthesis and achieve maximum biomass more rapidly in 1997 than in 1996. Sampling in 1996 took place in early August, at which time the majority of plant species had achieved anthesis and maximum biomass. In 1997, the majority of plant species had achieved the same level of development by mid-June. This indicates the degree to which the cool season plant community is attuned to precipitation in this environment. As indicated above, plant species numbers increased in cover sampling from six in 1996 to fifteen in 1997. The greatest increase in new species numbers occurred in the forb lifeform (two in 1996, nine in 1997). As with cover and herbaceous production, species numbers appeaz directly correlated to precipitation amount. COMPARATIVE VEGETATION COMMUNITY SAMPLING AT THE WEST ELK MINE As discussed by Savage and Savage (1996), the historic record vegetation community was found to closely resemble the dry meadow herbaceous vegetation community within the permit area of the West Elk Mine. The dry meadow community was sampled in 1982 and the dry meadow reference area was sampled in 1982 and 1995 (Mountain Coal Company, 1997, Savage and Savage, 1995). While the dry meadow community (either affected area or reference area) is no longer being quantitatively sampled, it is productive to compare observations made at the historic record vegetation community to those from the dry meadow community within Sylvester Gulch. Tables 7 and 8 provide comparisons of the sampled parameters for the dry meadow community, dry meadow reference area, and the historic record vegetation community from the years 1982 through 1997. Figure 4 provides a graphic representation of the parameters as they relate to "pre-growing season" precipitation amounts. Relative cover in the dry meadow affected area, dry meadow reference area, and historic record vegetation community during the sample years 1982, 1995, 1996 and 1997 illustrates dominance by one cool season grass species in each of the communities. In the 1982 dry meadow community, the species was .~gropyron smithii. In the dry meadow reference area and the historic record vegetation community, the -Ia