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3.2 Greasewood Comparison Revecietation <br />Ground cover of the Greasewood Comparison Revegetation Areas consisted of 69.3% live <br />vegetation, 4.6% rock, 16.9% litter, and bare ground exposure of 9.2% (Table 3). Perennial cover <br />across the unit averaged 25.0% with annual and biennial cover averaging 44.3 %. Dominant taxa were <br />cheatgrass, greasewood (Sarcobatus vermicu /atus), and annual wheatgrass (Eremopyrum triticeum) with <br />34.0 %, 10.4 %, and 8.9% average cover, respectively. Sub - dominant species were four -wing saltbush <br />(Atrip /ex canescens), forage kochia (Kochia prostrata), and little barley (Criterion pusillum) with 6.8 %, <br />4.3 %, and 1.0% average cover, respectively. Current total annual herbaceous production in the <br />Greasewood Comparison Areas totaled 872.1 pounds per acre with perennials contributing 182.0 pounds <br />per acre (Table 5). Woody plant density averaged 1,943 shrubs per acre and was primarily comprised of <br />greasewood, four -wing saltbush, and shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia) (Table 6). Rubber rabbitbrush <br />(Chrysothamnus nauseosus) and Wyoming big sagebrush (Seriphidium tridentatum var. wyomingensis) <br />are also scattered throughout the unit. <br />This unit passes all accepted diversity success criteria with 1.1% total perennial cool- season grass <br />cover and 11 observed species; total perennial warm - season grass cover of 1.4% with three species <br />observed; and total perennial forb and sub -shrub cover of 7.0% with 12 species observed (Table 4). <br />There were no species that exceeded 70% relative cover on the Greasewood Comparison Revegetation <br />Unit. <br />3.3 Shadscale Comparison Revegetation <br />Ground cover of the Shadscale Comparison Revegetation Areas consisted of 47.8% live vegetation, <br />12.7% rock, 15.6% litter, and bare ground exposure of 23.9% (Table 3). Perennial cover across the unit <br />averaged 22.2% with annual and biennial cover averaging 25.6 %. Dominant taxa were cheatgrass, four - <br />wing saltbush, and annual wheatgrass with 21.1 %, 4.6 %, and 3.3% average cover, respectively. Sub- <br />dominant species were forage kochia, thickspike wheatgrass (Elymus lanceolatus), and galleta (Hilar /a <br />fames /i) with 3.2 %, 2.8 %, and 2.0% average cover, respectively. Current total annual herbaceous <br />production in the Shadscale Comparison Areas totaled 516.5 pounds per acre with perennials contributing <br />257.7 pounds per acre (Table 5). Woody plant density averaged 1,800 shrubs per acre and was primarily <br />comprised of four -wing saltbush, greasewood, and shadscale, although there were an additional 9 shrub <br />species encountered during sampling (Table 6). <br />This unit passes all accepted diversity success criteria with 12.7% total perennial cool- season grass <br />cover and 18 observed species; total perennial warm - season grass cover of 5.3% with four species <br />observed; and total perennial forb and sub - shrubs exhibited 10.8% cover with 20 species observed <br />Cedar Creek Associates, Inc. 19 Snowcap Mine - 2011 <br />Phase III Bond Release Evaluation - Year 1 <br />