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New Horizon North Mine <br />Permit No. C-2010-089 <br />2014 Dryland Reference Area Evaluation <br />1.0 INTRODUCTION <br />Cedar Creek Associates, Inc. (Cedar Creek) was contracted in 2014 by Tri-State Generation and <br />Transmission Association, Inc. to implement an evaluation of potential reference areas in comparison to <br />the currently approved 2005 Dryland Pasture Reference Area at the New Horizon Mine. <br />The 2005 Dryland Pasture Reference Area was deemed inappropriate for two main reasons. First, <br />land management of the reference area is not controlled by the mine as the reference area is located and <br />managed by the Nucla Airport. Second, the reference area was located on the Barx soil series, which is a <br />minor soil within the New Horizon permit area (NRCS 2013). The Barx soil series located in the permit <br />area typically associates with prime farmland within the permit boundary at New Horizon 2 Mine. <br />A field review of potential reference area locations was conducted on April 4, 2014 and yielded three <br />options; Old Peabody Sage Reference Area, Sage Reference Area, and North Tuttle Reference Area. <br />Please see Map 1 for the location of each reference area evaluated. Review focused on the Pinon / <br />Progresso soil series (Soils 77, 78, and 81), since these soils occupy approximately 61% of the New <br />Horizon permit area (please see Map 2). The remainder of this document and the results from the <br />potential reference areas are presented alongside the results from the 2005 Dryland Pasture Reference <br />Area for comparison. Raw data can be found in Appendix A while sampling methodologies can be found <br />in Appendix B. <br />Field sampling for the directly measurable variables of ground cover, current annual production, and <br />woody plant density was systematically conducted within the potential reference area from June 1 <br />through 5, 2014. Field efforts in 2014 were conducted under the direct supervision of Cedar Creek's <br />Range Ecologist, Mr. Jesse H. Dillon. <br />Attachment 2.04.1OC Page 2 May 2017 (TR -14) <br />