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Partial Bond Release Request -Reclamation Analysis <br />Coal Creek Resources <br />Permit M-1988-044 <br />Background: A number of areas have been reclaimed over the years at this operation and more land is being <br />reclaimed all the time. In examining the site, only those lands that have gone through at least two complete growing <br />seasons are considered potential candidates for release. Land that has only undergone one and perhaps part of a <br />second growing season is usually still too poorly established to be considered for release. In rare cases, a single <br />season maybe enough, but when a more or less natural vegetation cover is desired that is extremely rare. Perennial <br />grasses actually require at least two growing seasons to become established. The first season they primarily develop <br />an extensive root system with only minor amounts of top growth. In the second season the grass will develop more <br />top growth and, if moisture is adequate, flower and set seed. If the plant is successful in accomplishing these two <br />developmental points then it is far more likely that the grass will be capable of surviving, like most perennials, <br />potentially forever. From that point on it is simply a matter of expansion of the plant to produce large bunches or <br />sod, depending on the growth habit of the species. <br />One of the upland reclamation sites included in this release request has been in the process of development <br />for many years, but another is only in its third yeaz of growth. The lazge bottomland site has gone through two <br />growing seasons and the two wetland mitigation sites have gone through several years. The bottomland sites cannot <br />be judged in the same manner as the upland sites where revegetation is primarily by means of seeding. Because <br />much of the bottomland reclamation is more or less in the bed of Coal Creek it has to be examined as a blend of <br />streamside and wetland vegetation. Thus this site links directly to the wetland mitigation sites which are primarily <br />wetland forms with only minor amounts of streamside vegetation. Much of the bottomland revegetation, although <br />seeding was done in some places on slopes, is primarily a natural revegetation involving the invasion of wetland <br />species typical of this drainage and its hydrologic and edaphic characteristics. <br />Locations of Land Requested for Release: Maps 1, 2, and 3 show the locations of the land requested for release. <br />The total acreage included in this partial release is 56.42 acres. Two of the areas are in the east upland portion of <br />the operation. Three areas are included in the bottomland reclamation azea, but two of those are mitigation <br />wetlands. Therefore, only one area of recent mining is included in the bottomland portion. Two other areas of recent <br />mining and reclamation are also present in the bottomland, but are still far too immature to be considered for <br />release. <br />Vegetation Analysis <br />Method of Sampling: Because the cover of the vegetation is the only quantitative parameter utilized in the <br />reclamation standazd, cover sampling was all that was done. Cover was derived by using a circular quadrat with an <br />Reclamation Status -Coal Creek Resources M-1988-044 August 2002 Page 1 of 10 <br />