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DISCUSSION <br />• <br />Dover <br />As can be seen in Figure: 1, 1990 cover was highest in the reference areas and the <br />medium-age Wadge locations (Wadge Pasture and Wadge Pasture Comparison areas), and <br />the 1983 Wolf Creek arc;a. Although direct comparison between years is, in general, not <br />possible, it seems that cover values overall in t 990 have stabilized or slightly reversed the <br />trend of declining cover observed during the years 1987 through 1989. While the drought <br />that has characterized the latter time period has not completely abated (see Caimatic ~ <br />Conditions, belowl, vegetation cover appears to have resisted its effects in 1:390. This <br />may reflect a plateau level that was achieved in 1989 as a delayed response '[o dry periods <br />experienced within the past three years (see discussion in the 1988 Ftevegetation <br />Monitoring Report, Sencea II Minel. The 1983 Wadge, 1983 Wolf Creek, 1986 Wadge ~ <br />Spring, Wadge Pasture, and Wadge Pasture Comparison areas all exceeded 90 percent of <br />the Sagebrush Reference Area cover; the 1986 Wadge Spring and Wadge Pasture area <br />also exceeded 90 percent of the Mountain Brush Reference Area cover. It should be noted <br />that of the three other sagebrush areas sampled during other 1990 studies at the Seneca <br />II-W Mine, Seneca II-W Expansion Area, and the Yoast study area averaged 60.9, 68.3, <br /> <br />and 67.3 percent cover, respectively. Consideration of 90 percent of these latter values • <br />would have shown that all the reclaimed areas except the 1986 Wadge area would have <br />reached the cover standard this year. <br />Average vegetation cover in the reclaimed areas was highest in 1987 (72.1 percentl, <br />slightly lower in 1988 (70.9 percentl, substantially lower in 1989 (413.4 percent), and <br />somewhat higher in 1990 (60.2 percentl. See 1990 cover tables in Appendix 1 and the <br />1987, 1988, and 1989 Revegetation Monitoring Reports for the Seneca II Mine. These <br />average figures admittedly are over different numbers of sampled areas and different aged <br />areas, but inasmuch as a range of old to new reclamation of both the Wadge and Wolf <br />Creek areas has been sampled each year, these data may at least tend to suggest trends: <br />Total Vegetation Cover <br />AREA 1987 1988 1989 1990 <br />ALL 72.1 70.9 48.1 60.2 <br />Wadge Pasture --- 79.1 70.6 65.4 <br />Mountain Br. Reference 89.8 85.3 80.1 78.0 <br />Sagebrush Reference 88.0 76.3 63.2 72.1 <br />• <br />12 <br />