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very good mosaic of shrubs including Wyoming big sagebrush and four -wing saltbush in the overstory <br />with mixed patches of blue grama, needle and thread, Indian ricegrass, galleta, sand dropseed, and <br />scarlet globemallow in the understory. <br />In addition, review of Chart 3 indicates that the diversity standard (though met by all reclamation in <br />both 2010 and 2011) is set far too high for this project area. None of the three reference areas were <br />able to pass this standard. Both sagebrush reference areas are lacking sufficient perennial forb cover. <br />Only the Sagebrush Reference Area B met the warm - season grass standard and only in 2011. Similarly, <br />the Grassland Reference Area only exhibited a single warm - season grass in 2011. The Grassland <br />Reference Area is also so heavily dominated by needle- and - thread that it exceeds the upper criterion of <br />40% composition and therefore has been excluded from the cool- season grass diversity standard. As a <br />result the Grassland Reference Area displays zero cool- season grasses that would meet the diversity <br />standard. <br />3.7 Success Comparisons <br />Success evaluations involve a direct comparison of appropriate parameters for each variable of <br />interest. Comparisons are made directly with either the reference area parameters or the permitted <br />standards. In the case of ground cover and production, comparisons for each segregate mine area are <br />directly made against weighted reference area data from the same year. For Mine Area No. 1, Sagebrush <br />Reference Area A receives 89% weight and the Grassland Reference Area receives 11% weight. For <br />Mine Area No. 3, Sagebrush Reference Area A receives 50% weight, as does Sagebrush Reference Area <br />B. These weights are based on pre- disturbance acreages of these communities. Charts 1, 2, and 3 were <br />developed to provide a quick overview of the success of these efforts in comparison to reference area <br />based criteria and the diversity standards. <br />Chart 1 and Table 1 exhibit the results from ground cover sampling, and reveal that both Mine Area <br />No. 1 and No. 3 exceeded the reference area comparisons in both 2010 and 2011. Mine Area No. 1 <br />exhibited 30.72% perennial cover in 2010 and 36.5% in 2011, both of which exceed 90% of the <br />weighted reference area perennial values (20.4% and 19.0 %, respectively) by substantial margins. <br />Similarly, Mine Area No. 3 exhibited 22.60% perennial cover in 2010 and 26.6% in 2011, both of which <br />exceed 90% of the weighted reference area perennial values (18.8% and 18.5 %, respectively) by more <br />modest amounts. <br />Chart 2 and Table 3 exhibit the results from production sampling, and reveal that both Mine Area <br />No. 1 and No. 3 exceeded the reference area comparisons in both 2010 and 2011. Mine Area No. 1 <br />exhibited perennial production of 344.5 pounds per acre in 2010 and 419.0 pounds per acre in 2011, <br />CEDAR CREEK ASSOCIATES, Inc. <br />Page 18 Hamilton Mine - 2011 <br />Phase III Bond Release Evaluation <br />