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Grasses and forbs to be planted on reclaimed areas will include rapidly growing grass species that will aid in soil stabilization and forbs that will provide forage for deer. Emphasis will be placed on establishing woody forage for mule deer browse. American Soda, the BLM, and the CDOW have agreed that up to 20 percent of the area requiring reclamation will be specifically dedicated to providing desirable accessions or forms of woody browse species appropriate for mule deer wintering range and other associated wildlife habitat. Reclamation species of choice within these areas would be Wyoming big sagebrush and antelope bitterbrush, with the two species represented about equally. Within these areas, the ultimate goal would be to establish 15 to 20 percent canopy cover of desired shrubs at maturity. Consistent with these goals, composition and density of shrubs to be established in the mining panels and the means used to evaluate progress toward established goals during early stages of shrub development will be determined cooperatively with the BLM and the CDOW in the development of periodic work plans, as discussed below. [f seeded, shrubs such as sagebrush, bitterbrush, and others will likely need to be applied separately and in geographically separate portions of the mining panels in order to minimize competition from more aggressive species and thereby optimize their establishment. If grazing by deer or other factors hinder the establishment of desirable woody species, tubelings or larger transplants will be planted in those areas where soil and moisture conditions are suitable for their establishment. Another goal of the reclamation effort will be to short-circuit the long successional process that would normally be necessary for the natural reestablishment of coniferous cover derived from pinyon-juniper habitats. To this end, pinyon tubelings or transplants from nearby BLM chainings will be selectively planted to break up remnant linear features of abandoned piping routes and utility corridors and to more rapidly reestablish the integrity and/or continuity of pre-selected pinyon-juniper stands where they could not be avoided in developing the mining panel. Specific planting standards would be cooperatively established during development of periodic work plans. Reestablishment of coniferous canopies is not to be construed as being integral with woody browse reclamation goals. Off-Site Habitat Improvement As mitigation for potential impacts to wintering mule deer throughout the proposed 30-year life of the project, American Soda has developed an off-site habitat improvement program in consultation with the BLM and the CDOW that will increase forage and cover in areas away from active mining operations. These areas will be particularly important in providing mule deer wintering habitat during the years prior to full reclamation of the Piceance Site mining panels. As used here, "off-site" may mean 1) within the Piceance Site boundary but outside the six mining panels to be developed throughout the life of the mine, 2) on BLM property outside the Piceance Site, or 3) off BLM lands, e.g., on CDOW property or other lands. Wildlife Mitigation Plan 1-3 Yankee Gulch Sodium Minerals Proles American Suda, L.L.P.