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Postmining Land Use <br />r <br />LJ <br />The revegetation plan .detailed in the following pages has been carefully developed to achieve <br />the postmining land use of .livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. It will also aid in landform <br />stability and mitigateimpacts to vegetation resources. Furthermore, this plan'is ,designed to <br />meet CMLRD Rules and Regulations that state: "All areas affected by. surface coal mining <br />operations shall be restored, in 'a timely manner: (11 to conditions that. are capable of <br />' supporting the uses which they were. capable of, supporting before any mining; or 12) to higher <br />or better uses ..." (4.16.111),(21. While mitigation. of impacts to vegetation resources will be <br />facilitated. by application of best current technology, limitations on the degree of successful' <br />mitigation will result because of. inherent long-term successiohal time frames and ecological <br />characteristics of regional native vegetation. <br />The revegetation plan has been developed initially with herbaceous production emphasized <br />over development of large woody plants. This was done after careful consideration of wildlife <br />habitat needs in' the general area and how thepostmine reclaimed landscape and plant <br />communities would integrate with the undisturbed land forms, vegetation communities, and <br />. habitat surrounding the permit 'area. Again, successional time frames and the required land <br />form stabilization practices play important roles in the type of vegetation initially established <br />,~ ~ on the reclaimed landscape. The herbaceous vegetation necessary for quick and long-term. <br />stabilization is highly competitive and will dominate fora considerable period of time before <br />woody cover predominates again: <br />As detailed in Tab 4, Land Use, livestock grazing has been the historic most intensive land use <br />of~the permit area. Since the surface ownership of the permit area is, for the most.part, <br />private (see Tab 3, Adjudication Filel, the postmine surface control will nearly all be private. <br />Thus, because ofeconomics, ownership, and ranching as a major industry in the area, the <br />primary postmine land use will revert to livestock grazing. The revegetation plan has been <br />developed to restore this use. These practices will concentrate on stabilization and forage <br />resources while backfilling and grading practices will provide topographic diversity and <br />stockwater developments. These practices will concurrentlysatisfy the needs of wildlife as. <br />well. Livestock grazing will encourage reestablishment of native diversity and woody plant <br />density Isee the 1989 Revegetation Monitoring Report far the Seneca II Mine, Wadge Pasture <br />grazing discussionl. <br />• A common range improvement/rehabilitation practice is the reduction or elimination of <br />5 ~ Revised 1 /99 <br />