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EXHIBIT J <br /> Vegetation Information <br /> Vegetation information was gathered from the Soil Survey of Larimer County Area, Colorado <br /> (United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service), and vegetation sampling <br /> and identification during site visits. <br /> Disturbance to vegetation within the proposed permit area primarily includes areas previously <br /> cultivated with native and hay grasses. Upon completion of mining activities, reclamation will <br /> seed disturbed areas with a mixture of native grass species. <br /> The proposed 5J Pit project site is located in the Colorado Piedmont physiographic region <br /> sandwiched between the foothills of the Front Range and the high plains of northern Colorado. <br /> The vegetation in this area of Colorado is generally classified as a shortgrass prairie ecoregion. <br /> The shortgrass prairie has traditionally been separated from other grassland in the Great Plains <br /> area on the basis of the relative height of the dominant grasses. This view is no longer held by <br /> ecologists. Besides the low rainfall and dominance of short grasses, one of the better means to <br /> distinguish between the shortgrass and the midgrass or tall grass prairies is that in the shortgrass <br /> region all of the available soil moisture is transpired before the end of the growing season. In <br /> general, less than 50 percent of the ground in shortgrass regions is covered by vegetation. This is <br /> an important aspect of the proposed permit area for maximizing and determining reclamation <br /> success. <br /> Upland areas of the proposed project site are covered with previously cultivated native and hay <br /> grasses such as Blue Grama, wheatgrasses, Tall Fescue, and Smooth Broom. Since the grasses <br /> are not irrigated, the height of some grasses may reach 12-18 inches during periods of maximum <br /> growth, but most stands of grass grow low to the ground. In general, 70-80 percent of the ground <br /> is covered by vegetation. <br /> Upland areas where landowner disturbances have not been revegetated primarily contain roads <br /> and spaces stabilized by gravel and growth of invasive grasses such as foxtail and cheatgrass and <br /> weeds such as kochia and Russian thistle. <br /> 5J Pit <br /> DRMS 112 Permit Application Page 21 <br />