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• Woody Plant Density areas such as may be included in eventual bond release blocks are judged <br />by a standard of 2000 stems per acre. Of Woody Plant Density areas that have been planted at <br />the Seneca IIW Mine, sampling has occurred in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010. Blocks not sampled <br />in 2006 were sampled in 2007; all blocks were sampled in 2008 and 2010. <br />Climatic Data <br />SCC has historically provided precipitation data for the Seneca II and IIW Mines. As in previous <br />years, precipitation data from the Seneca IIW mine were used in 2010. Since the long-term <br />average for the mine exists for only 25 years, the long-term average monthly precipitation data <br />from the NOAA administered Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) for the nearby town of <br />Hayden (Station 053867) was used as an appropriate base for comparison. SCC also provided <br />temperature data for the nearby Seneca IIW Mine in 2010; however, for temperature analysis on <br />the Seneca II and Seneca IIW Mine, temperature data from the Hayden station have been used <br />since 2005 and were again used in 2010. <br />• RESULTS <br />Data from sampling of Woody Plant Density blocks in 2010 (as well as trend data resulting from <br />the sampling of Woody Plant Density areas at the Seneca IIW Mine in 2006, 2007, 2008 and <br />2010) are included in Tables 1 through 59 in Appendix 1. <br />DISCUSSION <br />Climatic Conditions <br />The year preceding sampling in September 2010 included well below average moisture from late <br />summer of 2009 to early spring of 2010. This dry sequence was ended by a two month `spike' of <br />precipitation in April and May 2010 (Figures la and 1b). When compared to other years in which <br />monitoring has occurred back to 1987, the cumulative 12 months total precipitation prior to <br />sampling in September ranked 2010 as the second lowest for the 24 years of record (Figure 2b). <br />However, total precipitation for the previous six months prior to sampling in September was about <br />2 inches above average for the period of record back to 1987 (Figure 3b). The cumulative four <br />month precipitation values back to 1987 (Figure 4b) show that 2010 was also above the 24-year <br />• <br />2