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A view of the potential utility of the reclaimed area plant production may be had by <br />• assessing the proper livestock stocking rates based on observed herbaceous <br />production. The estimated stocking rates for the reclaimed and reference areas are as <br />follows: <br />AREA AUM/acre <br />1985 Recl. 0.7 <br />1998 Recl. 0.5 <br />Mt. Br. Ref. 0.2 <br />Sgbr. Ref. 0.4 <br />The above calculated stocking rates are based on a proper use factor assumed to be 50 <br />percent and the forage requirement per animal unit month of 810 oven-dry pounds per <br />acre. <br />The SCS (NRCS) has estimated production values for the Mountain Loam Range Site <br />(corresponding more or less to the Sagebrush/Snowberry vegetation type) and the <br />Brushy Loam Range Site (corresponding more or less to the Mountain Brush vegetation <br />type). These estimates are contained in published range site descriptions dated August <br />• 1975. For the Mountain Loam range site, production of sites in excellent range condition <br />during an unfavorable precipitation year (such as 2000) is 900 Ib/ac (assuming <br />conversion factor of 0.75 from air-dry production used in range site descriptions to oven- <br />dryproduction weight). Using the 50 percent proper use factor, this translates to 1.1 <br />AUM/ac. Similarly, for the Brushy Loam Range Site, estimated production of 1125 Ib/ac <br />would translate to 1.4 AUM/ac. These figures are considerably in excess of the <br />observed values in the Sagebrush and Mountain Brush reference areas, partly because <br />the NRCS values make some accounting of production by woody species. <br />It can be seen that herbaceous production in the reclaimed areas has resulted in greater <br />allowable stocking rates than either of the reference areas, even the Sagebrush <br />Reference which is, by virtue of its north-facing aspect, maintains higher than average <br />production, especially during somewhat drier years. <br />Alfalfa is a species of particular interest in the Seneca II Mine reclamation. The <br />contribution of alfalfa to total herbaceous production was high in the reclaimed areas in <br />• the early and mid-1980's. Beginning in 1985, the alfalfa component of the seed mix was <br />12 <br />