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. As can be seen in Figure 1a, the mean allowable total "all hit" herbaceous cover observed in the <br />1999 reclaimed area exceeded 90 percent of the standard set by the reference areas. That of <br />the four-year old 2002 reclaimed. areas mean allowable cover was lower than the standard but <br />the confidence limit did exceed the standard. The very young (two-year old) 2004 reclamation fell <br />short of the standard of allowable cover entirely. In 2000 when the two-year old (then) 1999 <br />reclamation was sampled, the allowable cover was 20% in the reclaimed and 90% of the <br />standard was 24.4%. Hence a situation in which the allowable cover of two-year old reclamation <br />does not reach 90% of the Phase III standard is not necessarily indicative of a problem. <br />Inasmuch as the 1999 reclaimed areas at the Seneca IIW Mine were also sampled in 2001, a <br />year that was slightly below average in moisture, it is interesting to observe the changes in cover <br />values between 2001 and 2006, which was a year that was much below average in moisture <br />(Figures 6b, 7b and 8b). Total vegetation cover had decreased substantially between the two <br />years (34.3% to 31.7%). Over the five years, cover by annuals and biennials declined from <br />22.7% to 4.6%. Cover by native perennial cool season grasses rose from 8.5% to 11.1 %. One of <br />the desired outcomes in the younger revegetation is for the cover by grasses to be more <br />"restrained." In the presence of more restrained grass exuberance in the 1999 reclamation, the <br />development of native perennial forbs has moved up from 1.3% in 2001 to 4.3% in 2006. <br />• Development of introduced perennial forbs cover has also been somewhat restrained with alfalfa <br />in 2006 comprising about 5% cover, a level far below those that were deemed to be excessive in <br />the very old reclamation. of the area (at the Seneca II Mine) where alfalfa had comprised a much <br />larger presence in the seed mixes. <br />2002 reclamation at the Seneca IIW Mine had been sampled previously in 2004. At that time the <br />heavy annuaUbiennial growth typical of two-year-old stands was evident with 36% cover. As of <br />2006, cover by annuals/biennials was down to 15%. The development of native perennial forbs <br />had sped up - in 2004 the cover was 0.6°lo with eleven species present, while in 2006 cover was <br />up to 3.5% with eighteen species present. These observations demonstrate an on-going <br />successional advancement in reclamation plant communities that promises to result in <br />increasingly diverse makeup. <br />Herbaceous Production <br />Observed production values and derivation of the 2006 herbaceous production standard are <br />compiled /documented in the table below: <br />16 <br />