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RULE 4 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS <br />number of emergent plants by life form within each quadrat. Conversion to the number of <br />emergents per square foot facilitates an assessment of the eventual success of the seeding effort. <br />During the second and fourth growing season of a reseeded area, herbaceous cover and woody <br />plant density information will be gathered. This information will be gathered at the species level <br />and will reflect the effectiveness of the seed mixture and volunteer species. Colowyo will also <br />monitor areas seven years old and every third year thereafter (year 10, 13, etc.) to assess their <br />status toward approaching the maturity necessary for bond release testing. Seven year and older <br />monitoring will also utilize ground cover and density sampling, but will include a modest current <br />annual production sampling effort to facilitate evaluation of progress toward meeting this variable <br />and to allow a determination of carrying capacity should a program of livestock grazing be <br />implemented. After 7 years of growth and where practicality dictates, revegetation units may be <br />combined into logical management units for sampling / monitoring purposes, rather than <br />remaining autonomous. Monitoring will cease following Phase III bond release. <br />4. The data and an assessment of the monitoring results will be submitted in the Annual <br />Reclamation Report. A map will be included to delineate the reclaimed areas being sampled each <br />year. The Annual Reclamation Report will also provide details regarding restricted interseeding <br />or other mitigative measures implemented as a result of the vegetative monitoring program. <br />4.15.2 Use of Introduced Species <br />For pre -2008 revegetation, (especially pre -2002 revegetation) an examination of the seed mixture <br />approved for the reclamation of rangeland indicates that Colowyo included some introduced species in the <br />mixture for which regulatory approval was obtained. Introduced species included in the seed mixture <br />were: <br />(1) Intermediate Wheatgrass (Agropyron intermedium) <br />(2) Siberian Wheatgrass (Agropyron sibericum) <br />(3) Pubescent Wheatgrass (Agropyron trichophorum) <br />(4) Smooth Brome (Bromus inermus) <br />(5) Orchard Grass (Dactylus glomerata) <br />(6) Vinall Russian Wildrye (Elymus junceus) <br />(7) Durar Hard Fescue (Festuca ovina duriscula) (Actually Native) <br />(8) Timothy (Phleum pratense) <br />(9) Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis) (Naturalized Taxon) <br />(10) Lutana Cicer Milkvetch (Astragalus cicer) <br />(11) Blue Flax (Linum lewisii) (Actually Native) <br />(12) Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) <br />Of the 31 species approved, 21 species are native. On a seed weight basis, 65% of the seeds to be planted <br />are native species seed. <br />The introduced species were included in the mixture because they were thought to be necessary to control <br />erosion and because they provide forage for wildlife and livestock on the reclaimed area. The research at <br />Colowyo by the Colorado State University (CSU) Agronomy Department has documented the superiority <br />of the introduced species for revegetation purposes compared with other species under similar conditions. <br />The CSU study and two progress reports are set forth in Exhibit 10, Vegetation Information. None of the <br />introduced species are poisonous or noxious. For further discussion of the value of introduced species for <br />obtaining the desired post -mining vegetative community of the same seasonal variety and lifeform of the <br />pre -mined area, refer to Section 2.05. <br />Rule 4 Performance Standards 4-41 Revision Date: 4/10/18 <br />Revision No.: MR -184 <br />