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desirable and necessary to achieve the approved post-mining land use, and are not <br />poisonous or noxious (permit section 4.15.2). <br /> <br /> <br />2.Methods to measure herbaceous cover and production, species diversity, and woody <br />plant density for reclaimed rangelands are discussed in section 4.4.1 of Volume IV <br />of the permit application. Methods to measure reclamation success on croplands is <br />discussed in section 4.5 of Volume IV of the application. <br /> <br />For rangelands, the cover standards are based on cover which will keep soil loss, due <br />to rill and sheet erosion, to less than 4 tons per acre per year based on the application <br />of the Universal Soil Loss Equation. These standards call for a 52% effective cover <br />on Range Sites A and B and 47 % effective cover on Range Site C. The litter <br />component included must be natural. The production standards are based on the <br />lower confidence limit of the historic production means on each range site, utilizing <br />data from 1979-1985. The standards are as follows: <br /> <br />2 <br />gms/m <br />Range site A 62.39 <br /> <br />Range site B 42.49 <br /> <br />Range site C 47.46 <br /> <br />For reclaimed cropland, reclamation success will be determined by comparison of <br />reclaimed croplands against an adjacent cropland reference area. Actual hay <br />production will be sampled on reclaimed lands and compared to the reference area. <br /> <br />For range sites, seed mixes and revegetation practices are designed to meet diversity <br />standards set forth in the permit for herbaceous species and woody shrub species. <br />The diversity standard for herbaceous species is based on pre-mining historical data. <br />The standard is: <br /> <br /> <br />1)At least five principal species including a minimum of four cool season <br />perennial grasses and a minimum of one perennial forb. <br /> <br />2)Each principal species shall contribute no less than 3.0% relative cover. <br /> <br />3)No single species shall contribute in excess of 50% relative cover. <br /> <br />4)No four species in combination shall exceed 80% relative cover. <br /> <br />The applicant will reestablish shrubs on Range Sites A and B by including various <br />native shrubs in the seed mixes and by transplanting mature woody shrub clumps. A <br />minimum of 250 mature shrub pads will be transplanted in each clump. The clumps <br />are approximately 1,400 apart. The shrub density standard on Range Sites A and B <br />is a minimum 400 live stems per acre and a minimum 50% survival of pads within <br />each clump. There is no shrub density standard for Range Site C or cropland areas. <br />(4.15.7(1)). <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />38 <br /> <br />Trapper MineJuly 9, 2013 <br /> <br />