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• Litter cover was similarly abundant in all the reclaimed areas except the Wadge Pasture, <br />~ 1987 Wadge, and 1969 Wolf Creek, where the values of 15.3, 16.8, and 17.2 percent litter <br />cover, respectively, were substantially lower than the other areas where litter cover was <br />mostly in the middle of the 20 l0 30 percent range. Litter in the Mountain Brush Reference <br />Area was very low at 9.9 percent; litter in the Sagebrush Reference Area at 16.6 percent <br />was comparable to that in the above mentioned reclaimed areas, but lower than that in the <br />remaining reclaimed areas. <br /> <br />The lowest bare soil abundance in reclaimed areas was observed in the 1984 Wolt Creek <br />reclamation (7.2 percent cover) and the Wadge Pasture (5.4 percent cover). Note, however, <br />that the 1984 Wolf Creek area had relatively high litter cover, while the Wadge Pasture area <br />had low litter cover. Other reclaimed areas ranged Irom 11.4 to 20.7 percent bare soil cover. <br />Bare soil cover in the Mountain Brush and Sagebrush Reference Areas was very low at 4.4 and <br />4.8 percent, respectively. <br />Rock cover was generally very low, rising fo a maximum of 2.7 percent in the 1987 Wadge <br />area. In all other reclaimed areas, there was 0.7 to 2.0 percent rock cover; reference areas <br />• had no rock cover. <br />In the older reclaimed areas (1984 Wadge and Wadge Pasture), introduced perennial grasses <br />and torbs, especially alfalfa, are the most prominent contributors to total vegetational cover. <br />This trend is noticeable but less developed in newer reclaimed areas. In the 1989 Wadge and <br />Wolf Creek areas, except for the abundance of annual weeds, the distribution of cover among <br />life-forms is much more even. <br />Cover in the Mountain Brush Reference Area was dominated by Gambel's oak (23.9 percent <br />cover) end serviceberry (14.8 percent cover). Less abundant were the shrubs chokecherry <br />(2.4 percent cover) and mountain snowberry (9.7 percent cover). The only herbaceous <br />species making substantial individual contributions to cover were elk sedge (1.7 percent <br />cover), Agassiz bluegrass (6.3 percent cover), western yarrow (3.3 percent cover), <br />nettleleat gianthyssop (2.1 percent cover), horsemint (3.5 percent cover), northern bedstraw <br />(1.3 percent cover), and Astoria violet (1.7 percent cover). Litter comprised 9.9 percent <br />cover, while bare soil was 4.4 percent cover. <br />• <br />7 <br />