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COVER (TABLE 8) Native shrubs were dominant in this area and provided 44.0 percent of total vegetation cover. Big • sagebrush averaged more than one-half of this total. Mountain snowberry contributed two-fifths of the total. Saskatoon serviceberry, Douglas rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) and Gambel's oak accounted for the balance. Native perennial cool season grasses accounted for 40.4 percent of total vegetation cover. Agassiz bluegrass comprised nearly one-half of this total. Native perennial (orbs contributed 10.4 percent of total vegetation cover. Together, timber milkvetch (Astragalus miservar oblongifolius), chokecherry lupine (Lupinus prunophilus), oneflower wood sunflower (Helianthella uniflora) and James starwort (Pseudostellaria jamesiana) accounted for more than one-half of the total. A total of 28 species of native perennial forbs were encountered during sampling in this area. Introduced annual and biennial forbs accounted for 2.6 percent of total vegetation cover. Introduced annual grasses accounted for 0.9 percent. Introduced perennial forbs contributed 0.7 percent while introduced perennial cool season grasses accounted for 0.5, moss accounted for 0.3 and native annual and biennial forbs accounted for 0.2 percent of total vegetation cover. Total vegetation cover was 52.2 percent. Standing dead, litter, bare soil, and rock cover values were 8.1, 22.6, 16.8 and 0.3 percent, respectively. Total species density averaged 25.5 species per 100 sq. m. . HERBACEOUS PRODUCTION (TABLE 9) Total herbaceous production was 389.5 pounds per acre. DISCUSSION Climatic Conditions The dry growing season of 2002 was followed by anear-average fall 2002 and a generally above- average spring 2003 (Figures 6a and 6b). Although June and especially July were below average, the average far the 12 months preceding late July sampling was slightly above average (Figures 7a and 7b). Considering the previous six-months only (Figures 8a and Sb) the 2003 figures are quite noticeably above average with the effects of the wet spring weighing heavily. From a perspective of the previous four months only (Figures 9a and 9b) the effects of the dry early summer brought the 2003 values down to average. As regards heat from January through June, the year was very near average (Figure 10).