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Contiguous areas of range site A and range site B seeded in the same year and receiving similar <br /> reclamation practices may be lumped together into one range site AB parcel. When the bond release <br /> blocks are comprised of both A and B range site areas,cover and production standards for range site A <br /> will be applied to the block relative to demonstrating reclamation success(Permit section 4.4.1.5). For <br /> SL23,the nine parcels comprised a mix of range site A and B, and therefore were aggregated to one <br /> rangeland AB bond release block. <br /> Cover and Species Composition <br /> The operator contracted with Osborn Industries,LLC to conduct the sampling. Vegetation sampling was <br /> conducted between 22 to 30 July 2020, and 14 to 17 July 2021. Sampling methodologies complied with <br /> Rule 4.15 and the Division's Bond Release Guidelines. Western Colorado experienced an extreme <br /> drought during the summer of 2021,but the reclaimed lands were resilient under the drought conditions. <br /> Sample transects were determined using random distribution within the entire Bond Release Block. This <br /> methodology is acceptable to the Division. Random sample distribution minimizes the potential for <br /> unintended biases,however,it is possible a sample point does not fall within each parcel. The Division <br /> observes the reclaimed areas throughout the year during regular inspections, and observes each parcel <br /> during the bond release inspection, so any areas of concern are noted at the time of inspections. <br /> The approved reclamation success standards comprise: <br /> 1. Allowable cover=52%. <br /> Of this, a minimum of 33%cover must comprise perennial plant cover, and litter may contribute <br /> no more than 19%. <br /> 2. Range Site AB Production=62.39 g/M2. <br /> Production includes clipped perennial grasses and perennial forbs. No annualibiennial grasses, <br /> forbs, shrubs, or noxious weed species are included in production. <br /> 3. Woody Plant Density=550 stems/acre. <br /> 4. Species Diversity= a minimum of four perennial cool season grasses, each contributing>3% <br /> relative cover. A total of all perennial,non-noxious forb species contribute>5%relative cover. <br /> No single species may contribute>50%relative cover and no 4 species may contribute> 80% <br /> relative cover. <br /> In 2020 and 2021 allowable cover data was sampled to adequacy. Twenty(20)transects were collected <br /> for cover data. The Bond Release Block was successful for allowable cover for both 2020 and 2021. <br /> 2020 allowable Cover= 84.6%cover,2021 Allowable Cover= 91.4%cover. <br /> In 2020 and 2021 herbaceous production data did not achieve sample adequacy. However,the operator <br /> collected a minimum of 30 production samples for each year,which allows for reclamation success <br /> comparison using the reverse null calculation. This is an acceptable approach. The Bond Release Block <br /> was successful for plant Production for both 2020 and 2021. 2020 Production= 101.4 g/0.25 M2, and <br /> 2021 Production= 85.1 g/0.25 M2. [Production Standard= 15.6 g/0.25 M2] <br /> Woody plant density(WPD), standard requires establishment of 550 woody stems per acre. Attaining <br /> 90% of the standard, or 495 stems per acre is adequate to consider success for this standard. Due to the <br /> heterogeneous distribution of woody stems (shrubs),throughout the BRB,sample adequacy was not <br /> achieved for either the 2020 or 2021 sampling events for woody plant density. The operator collected 30 <br /> woody stem quadrats (100 M2),in 2020 and 2021. Collection of a minimum of 30 samples (quadrats), <br /> Permit Number. C1981010 Page 11 of 16 <br />