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<br /> <br /> <br /> 50 C1981-041 RN7 findings <br /> <br />XI. Revegetation <br /> <br />Vegetation information reviewed by the Division can be found in Section 2.04.10, <br />Tab 10, Volume 3; Revegetation Plan information is in Section 2.05.4 (2)(e), Tab14, <br />of Volume 5 of the application. <br /> <br />Due to the fact that the Roadside and Cameo Mines were existing prior to enactment <br />of SMCRA and the Colorado Act, no baseline vegetation data was collected from <br />areas already disturbed by surface operations and facilities. The permittee established <br />reference areas and gathered the appropriate baseline vegetation information prior to <br />initial issuance of the permit. <br /> <br />The vegetation surrounding the disturbed area is a sparsely covered salt desert <br />vegetation type, and along the Colorado River a riparian vegetation type exists. <br />Common salt desert species include grasses such as galleta (Hilaria jamesii), Indian <br />ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides) and squirreltail (Sitanian hystrix) and shrubs such <br />as winterfat (Ceratoides lanata), shadscale saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia) and <br />fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens). The riparian vegetation type is characterized <br />by species including willows (Salix spp.), cottonwoods (Populus spp.), salt cedar <br />(Tamarix parviflora) and bluegrass (Poa spp.). Greasewood (Sarcobatus <br />vermiculatus) occurs along the margins of the riparian zone, and along ephemeral and <br />intermittent drainages and adjacent colluvial toe slopes. <br /> <br />During 1982, the permittee selected three community study areas to represent <br />communities present prior to disturbance by mining. These study areas encompassed <br />a greasewood shrubland community, a shadscale shrubland community, and a mixed <br />greasewood shadscale community During the summer of 1982, the study areas were <br />sampled for vegetative cover, herbaceous production, woody plant density, species <br />diversity, and threatened and endangered species. After review of the community <br />character, it was determined that these study areas would serve as reference areas for <br />revegetation success criteria for cover and production for areas previously disturbed. <br /> <br />Various issues of concern were identified by the Division during the mid-term review <br />of 1995 and subsequent PR-02 review, including questions regarding the applicability <br />of the original vegetation study areas to serve as reference areas for all current and <br />proposed future disturbance sites. Modifications to revegetation success <br />demonstrations, seed mixes, and various aspects of the revegetation plan were <br />requested, along with an updated endangered plant survey covering areas of proposed <br />future disturbance. All issues of concern raised by the Division during the PR-02 <br />review were adequately addressed. <br /> <br />The operator had committed within the PR-02 amendments to conduct additional <br />vegetation studies in areas to be affected by disturbances associated with the proposed <br />CRDA-3, but such studies were not conducted, due to the operator’s subsequent <br />decision to withdraw CRDA-3 from the permit. Less than 4 acres of additional