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grazing animals find palatable, the reclaimed areas as they presently exist are closely • <br />compatible with the objectives of livestock growers, and may also be very compatible with the <br />needs of wild ungulate grazers such as elk. The latter apparently find this production of the <br />reclaimed areas much to their liking as evidenced by accounts of mine personnel citing tt~e <br />abundance of elk, especially during the winter, and the abundance, during summer sampling, of <br />their scat throughout many parts of the reclamation. Deer, commonly present in the <br />reclamation as well, will benefit from the herbaceous production in the reclaimed areas during <br />spring, summer, and fall. <br />The usefulness of reclaimed area production can be assessed by determining the proper livestock <br />stocking rates based on measured biomass production. The estimated stocking rates for the <br />reclaimed and reference areas in 1994 are as follows: <br />Reclaimed Unit AUM /acre <br />1983 Reclaimed Areas 1 .1 <br />1987 Reclaimed Areas 1 .7 <br />1990 Reclaimed Areas 1 .2 <br />1992 Reclaimed Areas N/C • <br />Wadge Pasture 1 .7 <br />Reference Areas AUM /acre <br />Mountain Brush 0.2 <br />Sagebrush 0.7 <br />The above calculations were based on a proper use factor of 50 percent and one animal unit <br />requiring 810 pounds of forage per month. <br />The SCS has estimated annual production values for the mountain loam range site <br />(corresponding to the Sagebrush type) and the brushy loam type (corresponding to the <br />Mountain Brush type). These estimates are contained in the range site descriptions for these <br />units. For the mountain loam range site, production of sites in excellent condition during an <br />average precipitation year is 1,125 pounds per acre or 0.7 AUM per acre (with 50 percent <br />proper use). The brushy loam range site under similar conditions has a calculated proper <br />stocking rate of 0.8 AUM /acre. <br />28 • <br />