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plots. <br />Please provide the Division with a map delineating the location(s) of the test <br />Response: Colowyo would like to provide the division with a map delineating the <br />locations of the test plots after the test plots have been constructed in the field <br />and surveyed. This will allow Colowyo to have accurate data of the <br />locations, and Colowyo will provide the division with the map in an <br />additional minor revision at that appropriate time. The two test plots will be <br />placed on a north and south facing slope respectively. <br />2. It is the Division's opinion that they physical and chemical properties of the <br />overburden will have considerable bearing on the plant response. As such, it will be <br />useful to adequately characterize the overburden used in each of the plots. The Division <br />requests that Colowyo conduct analyses on a representative composite sample from <br />each test plot after final overburden placement and grading. The constituents <br />Colowyo analyzes should include texture, fertility, pH, rock content, EC, SAR, <br />selenium and boron. Please provide the Division with a copy of the lab reports <br />following analysis. It would also be useful to include the lab reports in an appendix <br />or exhibit in the permit for future reference. <br />Response: Through past communications with the division, it has been established that <br />Colowyo's overburden seams are relatively homogeneous with respect to the <br />parameters mentioned above that relate to acceptable re-graded overburden. <br />There is a wealth of information in the Division's possession reported in the <br />2005 Annual Report that identifies the "quality" of each regraded overburden <br />sample that has been taken up to December 31, 2005. Investigation of <br />borehole data with respect to texture (sand, silt, clay) demonstrates a wide but <br />acceptable range for our purposes. The rock content of the overburden used <br />for this particulaz trial will be limited by the ability of our seeding equipment <br />to perform as it is designed. As it is impractical for Colowyo to sepazate <br />individual overburden seams, given the benign nature of said material, the <br />usefulness of the information that would be gained from the suggested <br />analyses is questionable because the ability to replicate the exact overburden <br />conditions in the future will not exist. <br />3. To allow for full expression of the shrub component, particularly the highly <br />palatable species such as serviceberry and bitterbrush, the Division recommends <br />that Colowyo considers using °Gelk fencing" for the plots. Or, to also assess the <br />impacts of browsing, the Division recommends using "elk fencing" on one half of <br />each of the plots. <br />Response: Elk fencing will be include on half of each test plot to assess the impacts of <br />browsing on the half of each test plot. Fencing can be delayed until the <br />following spring/summer after the plots are seeded. <br />