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n <br />U <br />Yoast 2009 Allowable ail-hit herbaceous cover (absolute)* j <br /> <br />Vegetation Type Mean Cover Sample <br />size (n) Nmin % of Affected <br />Area <br />Sagebrush/Snowberry a 29.2 15 9 24.0 <br />Mountain Brush a 35.9 17 10 48.9 <br />Aspen Woodland a 76.5 15 8 24.4 <br />Steep Mountain Brush a 16.4 15 8 2.7 <br />2002 Reclamation Area 58.2 10 12 NA <br />2005 Reclamation Area 58.1 10 8 NA <br />2007 Reclamation Area 17.7 14 216 NA <br />*Percent "all-hit" cover (absolute) by herbaceous species as corrected for "allowable" annual and <br />biennial cover (i.e. no more than 10 percent relative cover allowed, See CDMG 1995, 1.N.A.). <br />Cover by noxious weed species, if any, also subtracted. <br />a Data collected from Seneca IN Mine extended reference areas in 2009 <br />As can be seen in Figure 1a, the mean allowable total "all hit" herbaceous cover observed in the <br />2002 and 2005 reclaimed areas exceeded the standard. The very young (two-year old) 2007 <br />• reclamation fell short of the standard of allowable cover entirely. Experience at nearby Seneca <br />IIW has shown that very young reclamation that still has substantial cover by annual and biennial <br />species and a large deduction for "excess " cover by those species, is likely to continue to <br />develop the necessary predominance of perennial desirable species. <br />The 2002 reclaimed areas at the Yoast Mine were also sampled in 2004, a year that was slightly <br />below average in moisture, and in 2006, which was a year that was much below average in <br />moisture (Figures 6b, 7b and 8b). Total all hit vegetation cover had decreased substantially <br />between the first two sampled years (47.9% to 39.2%). However, with increased moisture over <br />the last two years, the 2002 reclaimed area has since recovered to 60.0% total all hit vegetation <br />cover. Meanwhile, all hit cover by annual/biennial species declined from 29.0% (2004) to 11.9% <br />(2006) and this year to 7.4%, and native perennial cool season grasses rose from 16.4% (2004) <br />to 20.3% (2006) and this year to 30.6°/x. One of the desired outcomes in the younger <br />revegetation is for the cover by grasses to be more "restrained." In the presence of more <br />restrained grass exuberance in the 2002 reclamation, the development of native perennial forbs <br />has moved up from 1.7% (2004) to 3.1% (2006) and this year to 12.0%. <br />• <br />12