PERMFILE56123 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

INTRODUCTION • This report presents the methods and results of the 1982 vegetation _ inventory of the herbaceous reference area at the Orchard Valley Mine (OVM) loceted near Paonia, Colorado for Colorado Westmoreland Inc. (CWI). This report is designed to address concerns which the Colorado Mined Land Reclama- tion Division (CMLRD) and the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) had in establish- ing a vegetation success standard for the OVM. This report makes a recommenda- :' tion for the establishment of a success standard regarding vegetation cover, production and shrub density. BACKGROUND s In 1981, a vegetation inventory of the OVM was conducted and submitted to the Regulatory Authorities (CI.ILRD and OSM) as part of the permit requirements pursuant to the Colorado Surface Coal t4ining Reclamation Act and Public Law 95-87. Although the study plan for the 1981 vegetation was approved by both CLt•1RD and OSM prior to initiation of the study, the regulatory authorities expressed concern that a suitable reclamation success standard could not be set with the 1981 data. The 1981 study results indicated that herbaceous cover and production of the reference areas was very low while shrub density was very high. Colorado law requires the mine operator to revegetate disturbed areas with equal to or greater productivity than originally existed on the area prior to disturbance. Meaning that the original ground cover and produc- tion of herbaceous species and density of trees and shrubs should be restored at final reclamation. The Colorado Division of Wildlife, however, decided that a beneficial density of shrubs for most species of wildlife is adequate if plantings of shrubs are clumped in densities of approximately 1,000 shrub stems per acre. This density quickly became the standard for shrub density establishment at several mines where a rangeland/wildlife land use goal was desirable. So too, CWI was willing to adopt this standard in lieu of reestablishing the original densities of trees and shrubs. The Regulatory Authorities decided that the 1981 reference areas, alChough • representative of the original vegetation disturbed during construction of the -1-