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3.0 RESULTS <br />3.1 Phase III Summary <br />A total of 53 plant species were observed within the Phase III Bond Release area (all or part of 14 <br />revegetated units) evaluated in 2008 (See Plates 1 and 2). These consisted of 22 grass taxa, 26 forbs, <br />and 5 shrubs as indicated on Table A -1 (Appendix A). Among these species is the occasional noxious <br />weed such as Canada thistle or invasive weed such as cheatgrass, the latter existing as notable patches. <br />Ground cover in the Phase III Bond Release area (Table 1 and Chart 1) consisted of 70.8% live <br />vegetation, 0.8% rock, 21.8% litter, and bare soil exposure of 6.6 %. Perennial cover across the unit <br />averaged 65.8% (93.0% relative cover) with annual and biennial cover averaging 5.0% (7.0% relative <br />cover). Dominant taxa were thickspike wheatgrass (Agropyron. dasystachyum), cicer milkvetch <br />(Astragalus cicM, crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum), and streambank wheatgrass (Agropyron <br />riparium), with 14.9 %, 10.3 %, 9.5 %, and 6.4% average cover, respectively. With regard to diversity, <br />the Phase III Bond Release Area exhibited 7 perennial grasses and 2 perennial forbs with between 3% <br />and 50% relative cover. Total relative cover for all perennial forbs in the Phase III area was 22.1 %. <br />Table 5 displays the results from 11 shrub patches that occupy 17.13 acres of the 203.1 acres of <br />Phase III revegetation (8.43 %). One of the shrub units will be counted for the first time in the 2009 <br />sampling effort. The 10 shrub patches that have been counted exhibited an average of 879.7 woody <br />plants per acre. Table 6 exhibits the results from 45 belt transects collected at each sample site for <br />woody plant density within grassland areas. Perusal of the table reveals that there is an average of <br />148.4 woody plants per acre in the Phase III bond release area external to shrub patches. Current <br />annual herbaceous production across the Phase III area averaged 1910.5 pounds per acre in 2008 with <br />perennial grasses the dominant category (see Table 3). <br />3.2 Reference Areas <br />3.2.1 Mountain Shrub Reference Area <br />The Mountain Shrub Reference Area is comprised of approximately 18 acres of gently to moderately <br />sloping vegetation that has a predominately northwesterly aspect (mesic) and easterly aspect (xeric) (see <br />Plate 3). The Mountain Shrub Reference Area was expanded in 2005 to include the east - facing slope of <br />the ridge to provide representation from the xeric subtype of the Mountain Shrub community. The <br />purpose of this inclusion is to provide a better representation of the distribution of Mountain Shrub <br />Cedar Creek Associates, Inc. Page 12 Colowyo Mine <br />Phase III Bond Release Evaluation <br />