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grama grass dominated the grasses. Rubber rabbitbrush was the dominant shrub and <br />the overall dominant plant on the reclaimed area. A combination of the sub-shrubs <br />Pasture sage and Broom snakeweed comprised 15.5% of the relative cover. Forbs <br />contributed only 3.2% of the relative cover. Weeds were not a problem or major <br />contributor to the plant cover. Herbaceous production on the coal sales yard area was <br />171.4 pounds per acre. This low value is attributed to the grazing and the extreme <br />drought conditions in 2006. <br />In 2006 the approved standard of 200 pounds of air dry herbage per year was not <br />achieved. The lack of success is attributed to the extreme climate conditions and the <br />recent grazing that had obviously occurred on site. Despite the low vegetative cover <br />and low production, the site was stable and erosion was not a concern. <br />2007 Data <br />Conditions were considerably better in 2007 than in 2006 with respect to <br />precipitation and to grazing. Precipitation was higher for the months previous to <br />sampling and grazing had not occurred on the reclaimed areas. Both of these <br />improved factors resulted in much higher values for cover and production on the <br />reclaimed portal area and at the coal sales yard. <br />At the portal area vegetative cover in 2007 was 30.2%. Grasses contributed 52.6% of <br />the relative cover, shrubs were 33.7% relative cover, forbs 5.9% of the relative cover, <br />and sub-shrubs 5.9% relative cover. The dominant grasses were two cool season <br />species; western wheatgrass and smooth brome. Contributing warm season grasses <br />were: blue grama grass, sideoats grama and red three awn. The overall dominant <br />plant was the shrub Rubber rabbitbrush representing 33.2% of the relative cover. <br />Broom snakeweed was the predominant sub-shrub. Forbs provided 7.7% of the <br />relative cover with white horehound and field bindweed the most prevalent. <br />Although some weeds including field bindweed were present, they were minor <br />contributors to the total plant cover. Weeds were not considered a problem. <br />Herbaceous production at the portal area was 867.5 pounds per acre. Vegetative <br />cover and production were very successful at the portal area in 2007. <br />The Twin Pines coal sales yard area had 40.6% total vegetative cover in 2007. This <br />is nearly double the cover value from 2006. Precipitation was higher and cattle were <br />not grazing prior to the vegetation sampling effort. This seems to have had a very <br />positive impact on the cover from 2006 which was only 20.6%. The dominant single <br />species was Rubber rabbitbrush which contributed 30.6% of the relative cover. <br />Shrubs as a life form accounted for 32.3% of the relative cover. Grasses contributed <br />30.2% to the relative cover. Blue grama grass was the dominant grass contributing <br />12.8% of the relative cover. Other contributing grasses were western wheatgrass, red <br />three awn and sand dropseed. Forbs contributed 10.3% of the relative cover and <br />included: white horehound, storksbill and field bindweed. Broom snakeweed, the <br />only sub-shrub, contributed 1.9% to the relative cover value. Noxious weeds were a <br />8