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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br />PR-04, Colowyo Coal Mine C1981-019 57 August 2016 <br /> <br />A discussion of Colowyo's woody stem density is found in the original findings document. <br />Stipulation No. 5, a requirement to set a woody stem density standard for Colowyo Mine, was <br />satisfied on January 2, 1985. The woody stem density requirement was determined through <br />discussions with representatives of the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Soil <br />Conservation Service, Colorado Division of Wildlife, CMLRD, Colowyo Energy Fuels, and <br />Utah International. The woody plant density success criterion at Colowyo for disturbed areas <br />other than at the Collom project area has been set at 1,000 live stems per acre. Pre-mine <br />inventory and reference area woody plant density measurements were taken along three-foot- <br />wide belts located along 100-foot-long transects. Similar methodology should be employed when <br />determining post-reclamation success. <br /> <br />Colowyo will employ similar methods and reclamation success standards to the Collom permit <br />expansion area. Cover and productivity parameters will be determined by acreage-weighted <br />comparison to three reference areas: Mountain Shrub reference area, Sagebrush reference area <br />and Grassland reference area. The proportion of the pre-mining plant communities in the area <br />proposed to be disturbed by the PR-04 mine plan represented by the reference areas is 39 percent <br />Mountain Shrub, 47 percent Sagebrush, and 14 percent Grassland. The weighted reference area <br />approach will be utilized for revegetation success comparison on the reclaimed Grassland <br />community. The reclaimed Sagebrush steppe community will be compared directly to the <br />Sagebrush Reference Area. <br /> <br />Herbaceous cover on the reclaimed Collom permit expansion area Grassland community will be <br />considered adequate for final bond release if it is not less than 90 percent of the herbaceous cover <br />from the three acreage-weighted reference areas with a 90 percent statistical confidence <br />(standard student’s t-test comparison of the means), as described in Section 4.14.8, Volume 15. <br />Herbaceous cover on the targeted Sagebrush steppe community will be considered adequate for <br />bond release if it is not less than 70 percent of the Sagebrush reference area’s herbaceous <br />production with a 90 percent statistical confidence (standard student’s t-test comparison of the <br />means). These success criteria are in agreement with Rule 4.15.8(3)(a)(ii). <br /> <br />Herbaceous production on the reclaimed Collom permit expansion area Grassland community <br />will be considered adequate for final bond release if it is not less than 90 percent of the <br />herbaceous production from the three acreage weighted reference areas with a 90 percent <br />statistical confidence (standard student’s t-test comparison of the means), Section 4.14.8, <br />Volume 15. Herbaceous production on the targeted Sagebrush steppe community will be <br />considered adequate for bond release if it is not less than 70 percent of the sagebrush reference <br />area’s herbaceous cover with a 90 percent statistical confidence (standard student’s t-test <br />comparison of the means). <br /> <br />The targeted reclaimed Collom permit expansion area Grassland community will be exempt from <br />a woody plant success standard. The Sagebrush steppe reclaimed community “core” areas as