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• INTRODUCTION <br />Quantitative sampling of reclaimed areas at Seneca Coal Company's (SCC) Seneca II Mine was <br />undertaken in July 1996 by ESCO Associates to facilitate SCC's continuing monitoring of the <br />progress of these areas in relation to revegetation performance standards. Methods, sample <br />areas, and sample sizes were those specified by SCC. <br />METHODS <br />Reclamation Units and Sampling Locations <br />Reclamation sampling units for the Seneca II Mine are shown on Map 1, "1996 Vegetation <br />Monitoring Locations". The 1996 reclamation units include: Wadge and Wolf Creek mining <br />areas reclaimed in 1989; Wadge and Wolf Creek mining areas reclaimed in 1992; PECOCO <br />Pasture; as well as the Wadge Pasture Area reclaimed between 1978 and 1985 and grazed from <br />1988 to the present. The Seneca II Mountain Brush and Sagebrush Reference Areas were also <br />sampled. <br />• Within each reclamation unit identified in the SCC Scope of Work, the SCC-specified number of <br />samples were located randomly on maps produced by SCC using numbered grid cells and random <br />numbers generated by computer. The SCC-assigned numbers of samples for a given parameter <br />in a given area reflected previously experienced sample variability or the level of precision <br />required in a given area. The desire to have finer estimation of mean values in areas <br />experiencing grazing and in the reference areas that provide control data necessitated larger <br />sample sizes. <br />Grid cell size was 100 feet x 100 feet in reclaimed areas, and 50 feet x 50 feet in reference <br />areas. These grid cells were placed contiguously by computer in a Geographical Information <br />System (GIS) rendering of reclamation areas to be sampled. Random number locations provided <br />by computer were used to select grid cells, in the middle of which a sample point was placed, and <br />shown on the map plptted from computer memory. These sample points were located as <br />accurately as possible in the field. Final location of herbaceous production quadrats was <br />accomplished by a blind throw of the sampling hoop; cover and density sample transects were <br />located and oriented using a blind throw of a meter stick. <br />• <br />