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be measured as current year aboveground biomass of herbaceous vegetation, as defined by <br />DRMS Regulation 4.15.8(4). <br />Vegetation cover will be measured by a point intercept method that meets the provisions of <br />DRMS Regulation 4.15.11(l)(a)(I). The observational unit will be a series of points along a <br />transect at least 5 meters and typically 50 meters in length and at least 50 data points at regular or <br />random intervals along the transect. A point sampling device supported by a rigid frame will be <br />used to ensure unbiased and vertical point placement. <br />Herbaceous production will be measured by a quadrant sampling method that meets the <br />provisions of DRMS Regulation 4.15.11(1)(b)(I). The observational unit will be a rectangular or <br />circular plot frame of at least 3 square meters and large enough to encompass individual plants of <br />the larger species being sampled. Current year growth of herbaceous non -woody species will be <br />clipped within each quadrant. The sampled plant material will be bagged and taken to the <br />laboratory for drying and weighing. Samples will be oven -dried at 105 degrees C to a constant <br />weight. <br />Transect locations will be located by using a random number generating procedure to create up <br />to 50 random coordinate pairs within each study area (reclaimed sites and the reference area). A <br />geographic positioning system (GPS) unit will be used to navigate to the sample points, in the <br />order that the points were randomly generated. Cover transects will be oriented along a random <br />compass bearing from the point of origin. Typically, if production sampling is done concurrently <br />with cover sampling, randomly located one - quarter square meter or larger quadrants will be <br />placed along the transect tape. Cover will be calculated as percent total cover for each transect, <br />and the mean calculated for the study area. Production will be calculated by multiplying the <br />sample dry weight to convert the plot dry weight to kilograms per hectare, which will then be <br />converted to pounds per acre. <br />Reclaimed Irrigated Pastureland Soil Analysis <br />The soil types corresponding to the Irrigated Pasture Reference Area and pre -mine soil mapping <br />units are based on the USDA - NRCS Soil Survey of San Miguel Area, which was compiled in <br />Section 2.05.4(2)(e) Page 16 April 2011 <br />