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LJ <br />Mountain Brushy 572.8 37.3 <br />Aspen Woodlands 1284.8 7.0 <br />Steep Mountain Brush 748 13.9 <br />Alkali SagelWest Whtgrs. 1,411 3.8 <br />1997 Reclamation Area 2039.5 NA <br />2002 Reclamation Area 2205.5 NA <br />Herbaceous production performance standard (weighted by percent of affected area) = 733.7 Ib/ac. <br />90 percent of performance standard = 0.9 x 733.7 = 660 Ib/ac <br />a Seneca IIW extended reference area values from data collected in 2004 <br />° Seneca IIWS extended reference area values from data collected in 7997; it is likely that values from 2004 <br />would have somewhat lower, so the calculated standard is probably somewhat high. <br />As can be seen, the observed herbaceous production in both the 1997 and 2002 reclaimed areas <br />exceeded the production standard. The listed reclaimed area production figures are not <br />corrected as they would need to be in actual Phase III bond release testing for the presence of <br />annual/biennial species. The correction downward for "excess" annual/biennial species in the <br />1997 cover data (above) was none, so even with a small necessary subtraction for noxious <br />• weeds, the total acceptable herbaceous production level would greatly exceed the standard. For <br />the 2002 reclamation area, the correction in the cover values for "excess" annual/biennial cover <br />was 73.7%. Correcting the total production downward by this amount would leave it at 580 Ib/ac, <br />below the standard of 660 Iblac. As mentioned above the difficulty of severe moisture stress <br />during the first two years have handicapped perennial plant development. This can be expected <br />to improve over the next few years if more favorable moisture conditions return. <br />Woody Plant Density <br />2004 data from the 1997 reclaimed area indicate the presence of about 352 woody plant stems <br />per acre. In 2001 the number for woody plants was only 190 stems per acre, and thus a near <br />doubling has occurred. As was the case in 2001, most of these shrubs are big sagebrush and <br />snowberry. <br />In the 2002 reclamation area, the 2004-observed woody plant density level of 1392 stems per <br />acre exceeds the performance standard of 1000 stems per acre. The bulk of the observed total is <br />big sagebrush. <br />• <br />11 <br />