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season grasses (0%), perennial forbs or sub-shrubs (0%) and perennial cool-season grasses (0.37%) is <br />insufficient to pass the required minimum values (2.0%, 0.5%, and 0.5%, respectively). <br />Qualitative analysis indicates that this revegetated area exhibited little diversity and is in fair to <br />average condition overall. <br />3.4 North Decline Mine Dewaterina System <br />Ground cover of the North Decline Mine Dewatering System Area consisted of 50.5% live vegetation, <br />13.9% rock, 16.3% litter, and bare soil exposure of 19.3% (Table 3a). Perennial cover across the unit <br />averaged 27.1% (up from 10.7% in 2006) with annual and biennial cover averaging 23.4% (up from <br />2.9% in 2006). Dominant taxa were cheatgrass, fourwing saltbush, and Palmer penstemon (Penstemon <br />paimen) with 22.5%, 10.0%, and 4.6% average cover, respectively. <br />This unit passes the perennial lifeform success criterion, but fails the revegetation success criterion <br />(90% of the Greasewood Reference Area value) when both annual and perennial cover values are <br />combined. This failure is due to the disparity in cheatgrass cover values between the reference areas <br />and the revegetated units, as described above. <br />The North Decline Mine Dewatering System Area currently passes three of the four diversity <br />standards. There is sufficient cover of perennial cool-season grasses and perennial forbs or sub-shrubs <br />to pass the required minimum values, and there are no planted species with greater than 70% relative <br />cover. The present relative cover of perennial warm-season grasses (0.8%) is insufficient to pass the <br />required minimum value (2.0%). This unit has shown improvement, however, from the last sampling <br />effort in 2006, when the relative cover of perennial, warm-season grasses was 0%. <br />Qualitative analysis indicates that the North Decline Mine Dewatering System Area is filling in nicely <br />with both shrubs and grasses. The western portion of the unit is dominated by Palmer penstemon. <br />Fourwing saltbush, cheatgrass, and perennial grasses are predominant towards the top of the slopes, <br />while cheatgrass remains prevalent on the lower portions of the slopes. Greasewood (Sarcobatus <br />vermicuiatus) and shadscale (Atripiexconfertifoiia) seedlings were abundant throughout the unit. <br />3.5 Roadside North Portal Facilities <br />Ground cover of the Roadside North Portal Facilities area consisted of 66.8% live vegetation, 0% <br />rock, 21.7% litter, and bare soil exposure of 11.5% (Table 3a). Perennial cover across the unit averaged <br />34.5% (up from 24.4% in 2006) with annual and biennial cover averaging 32.3% (down from 36.2% in <br />CEDAR CREEK ASSOCIATES, Inc. Page 18 Snowcap Coal Co. - 2008 <br />Revegetation Evaluation