2015-04-29_PERMIT FILE - C1981008 (4)

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New Horizon Mine Permit No. C-1981-009 2014 REFERENCE AREA EVALUATION 1.0 INTRODUCTION Cedar Creek Associates, Inc. (Cedar Creek) was contracted in 2014 by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. to implement an evaluation of potential reference areas in comparison to the currently approved 2005 Dryland Pasture Reference Area at the New Horizon Mine. The 2005 Dryland Pasture Reference Area was deemed inappropriate for two main reasons. First, land management of the reference area is not controlled by the mine as the reference area is located and managed by the Nucla Airport. Second, the reference area was located on the Barx soil series, which is a minor soil within the New Horizon permit area (NRCS 2013). The Barx soil series located in the permit area typically associates with prime farmland within the permit boundary at New Horizon Mine. A field review of potential reference area locations was conducted on April 4, 2014 and yielded three options; Old Peabody Sage Reference Area, Sage Reference Area, and North Tuttle Reference Area. Please see Map 1 for the location of each reference area evaluated. Review focused on the Mon / Progresso soil series (Soils 77, 78, and 81), since these soils occupy approximately 61% of the New Horizon permit area (please see Map 2). The remainder of this document and the results from the potential reference areas are presented alongside the results from the 2005 Dryland Pasture Reference Area for comparison. Raw data can be found in Appendix A while sampling methodologies can be found in Appendix B. Field sampling for the directly measurable variables of ground cover, current annual production, and woody plant density was systematically conducted within the potential reference area from June 1 through 5, 2014. Field efforts in 2014 were conducted under the direct supervision of Cedar Creek's Range Ecologist, Mr. Jesse H. Dillon.