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Keenesburg Mine 2014 Vegetation Monitoring Report <br />1 INTRODUCTION <br />Coors Energy Company (CEC) operated the Keenesburg Mine for coal extraction from 1980 to <br />1988 and is now conducting reclamation activities under Colorado Division of Reclamation <br />Mining and Safety (DRMS) Mining and Reclamation Permit C- 1981 -028. Vegetation monitoring <br />of reclaimed areas is required by DRMS. This report presents the results of annual reclamation <br />monitoring conducted on August 12 and 13, 2014 by Habitat Management, Inc. Quantitative <br />information in this report addresses the vegetative condition of Reclamation Areas 30 and 31. <br />Vegetation sampling was performed in compliance with Colorado Mined Land Reclamation <br />Board Surface Coal Mining Rules 2.04.10 and 4.15 and currently accepted methods for <br />vegetation sampling. <br />The Keenesburg Mine is located in Weld County, Colorado, approximately seven miles north of <br />the town of Keenesburg and is accessed by Weld County Road 59. In 2002, the Keenesburg <br />Mine assigned numerical designations to each reclamation area starting in the northeast corner of <br />the permit area and continuing clockwise through the reclaimed areas (Figure 1). Newly <br />reclaimed areas are assigned consecutive numbers as needed. Reclamation Areas 30 and 31 were <br />monitored in 2014. Reclamation Area 30 is 9.68 acres and was revegetated in 2006 and <br />Reclamation Area 31 is 11.92 acres revegetated in 2009. Reclamation activities included <br />backfilling, grading, topsoiling, and revegetation in accordance with CEC's approved DRMS <br />reclamation plan. <br />2 METHODS <br />The revegetation standards used to evaluate these areas are those currently in effect under the <br />Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act (CRS 34 -33 -101) .and the Keenesburg Mining <br />and Reclamation Permit. <br />2.1 Sampling Design <br />Ten vegetation cover samples and 15 herbaceous production samples was collected from each <br />Reclamation Area. These quantities were consistent with past sampling and methodology <br />agreements between CEC and DRMS. The Keenesburg Mine does not have a requirement to <br />meet sample adequacy; however, minimum sample sizes and standard deviations are reported as <br />an indication of variability of the sampled parameters. In all cases, comparisons presented in this <br />report assume that the sample mean value of each parameter accurately represents the population <br />mean. <br />Sample points were located prior to going into the field using mapping software to create a <br />square grid overlaid on each area being sampled. A sample point is located at the intersection of <br />each square created by the grid. The grid size was adjusted to create a total of 15 sample <br />locations within each Reclamation Area. To minimize edge effects and transition zones, those <br />sample points with grid squares falling on the boundary of the Reclamation Area with more than <br />50% of their area outside the boundary, or whose centroid falls outside of the boundary were <br />excluded. Sample point numbers (1 -15) were randomly assigned to the locations using a random <br />number generator. The points labelled 1 -10 designated locations for both cover and production <br />sampling and points 11 -15 designated locations for production sampling only. Azimuths were <br />also assigned to each sample location using a random number generator. Sample points were <br />located in the field using a sub -meter GIS grade GPS unit. <br />Habitat Management, Inc. 2 September 2014 <br />