Laserfiche WebLink
• respectively. ). Shrubs were more prevalent in the reference area, accounting for 20.5 percent of <br />vegetation cover there with big sagebrush being the greatest component. <br />Herbaceous biomass production averaged 1274.0 pounds oven -dry per acre in the affected area <br />(Table 6) and 1183.0 pounds oven -dry per acre in the reference area (Table 16). <br />In the larger general study area, Improved Pasture lands include some areas where smooth <br />brome is the main grass species. Timothy (Phleum pratense) and wild oats (Avena fatua) <br />contribute to a lesser extent. Native perennial grasses, mainly Agassiz bluegrass, but also <br />Canada bluegrass (Poa compressa) and slender wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus ssp. <br />trachycaulus) are found intermittently. Many of the Improved Pasture areas in the general study <br />area are old enough that shrubs have (re)invaded. These include mountain big sagebrush <br />(Seriphidium tridentata ssp. vaseyanum) and basin big sagebrush (Seriphidium tridentatum ssp. <br />tridentatum) as well as rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nasuseosus). Native perennial forbs <br />common in the general study area include western yarrow (Achillea lanulosa), groundsmoke <br />(Gayophytum diffusum), gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa), stemless goldenweed (Stenotus <br />acaulis), and Pacific aster (Virgulaster ascendens). Total vegetation cover is low and yet few <br />weedy annuals are present even though there is open habitat. This condition is very typical of <br />• older, often sod -bound smooth brome plantings. <br />MINED AND RECLAIMED LAND <br />Photographs 31 through 38 <br />A portion of the proposed Sage Creek Mine surface activities will affect areas previously mined <br />and revegetated at the Seneca II Mine. These areas were thoroughly sampled and described in <br />2006 as part of Phase III bond release testing. The descriptions are based on those data for <br />Bond Release Blocks (BRB) 2 and 3. These were reported previously in ESCO (2007). <br />Seneca It Reclaimed Area BRB — 2 Description (2006 Data) <br />This block includes land reclaimed between February 25, 1976 and September 21, 1981. These <br />areas were subject to provisions of what may be termed "Interim" rules preceding the formal start <br />of provisions of the Colorado Permanent Regulatory Program. <br />• 13 <br />