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• <br />Other environmental practices observed were the watering of <br />haul roads (dust control) and the monitoring of water quality. <br />It was the consensus of the local officials that Trapper <br />Mine was well deserved of the prestigious "Excellence in Surface <br />Coal Mining Reclamation Award" in 1990 presented by the Federal <br />Office of Surface Mining. We can understand Trapper officials <br />frustration about the retroactive rulings of OSM concerning the <br />livestock water pond issue. <br />visit observations - <br />Colowyo Coal Mine is currently the largest coal mine <br />operation in Colorado, producing approximately 9 million tons per <br />year. Prior to the site tour we were given an overview of the <br />development of the mine site. We were again informed of the <br />Federal and State regulatory process. It was also explained that <br />Federal Law (SMCRA) requires that the State regulatory agency <br />(DMG) consult with the State Wildlife Agency (Division of <br />Wildlife) on the wildlife issues. This causes the need to <br />balance reclamation efforts between erosion control and wildlife <br />improvements. <br />Again we were impressed on our site tour of the presence of <br />antelope. Tour members also recalled seeing several hundred elk <br />on the reclaimed lands during the past winter. Colowyo <br />representatives explained that the reclaimed lands have attracted <br />a large permanent herd of elk that winter-over on the reclaimed <br />lands. We saw extensive evidence of the elk - including <br />virtually all brush seedlings grazed to ground level. Not only <br />are the Colowyo reclaimed lands becoming an important component <br />of elk and deer winter range but also important for the spring <br />and fall transition periods. <br />We observed the special areas that have been fenced-off in <br />an attempt to achieve the "1000 stems-per-acre" woody plants <br />requirement. Unfortunately, it appeared that sagebrush was the <br />primary beneficiary of this practice. We observed that it would <br />be an ironic "catch-22" if the only way to achieve the brush <br />requirement, which was originally intended for the benefit of elk <br />and deer, was to fence the entire reclaimed area off to keep the <br />elk and deer away. Obviously there must be a better solution. <br />Rancher Jake Hamil explained that these lands are 2 or 3 <br />times as productive with a greater variety of forage than pre- <br />mining conditions. We observed the different types of grasses <br />and seedlings. <br />The Colowyo reclamation seed mixture contains an impressive <br />variety, as follows: critana thickspike, wheatgrass, amur <br />intermediate wheatgrass, sodar streambank wheatgrass, siberian <br />wheatgrass, arriba western wheatgrass, slender wheatgrass, lung <br />pubescent wheatgrass, manchar smooth brome, mountain brome, <br />5 <br />