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~J1 '' ~ • III IIIIIIIIIIIII III ~R~°g~4 STATE OF COLORADO Roy Romer, Governor DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES MINED LAND RECLAMATION DIVISION FRED R. BANTA, Director DATE: March 23, 1989 T0: Cathy Begej FROM: Carl Mount RE: 1988 Vegetation Data, Canadian Strip Mine, Wyoming Fuels Company Permit C-81-026 Cover data was obtained at the Canadian Strip Mine on August 11, 1988 using the point intercept method. A total of five (5), 50 meter long, randomly located transects were placed on the reclaimed mine pit area that was seeded in 1984. The Division's ten (10) point optical point frame was then set at ten (10) meter intervals along and perpendicular to each transect. Data re- corded included either, "hits" on green plants by species or "misses". Woody plant species were sampled by using 17, 50 square meter, belt transects loca- ted adjacent to the 50 meter cover transects. All woody plants that were found in the belts transects were counted by species. A sample adequacy test was done and it was found that the area was sampled adequately for total vegetation cover. As you can see from the attached Vegetation Data sheet, total vegetation cover after four (4) growing seasons averaged 38.4 percent. Cover data from table 1F (Appendix F, Page 13 of the PA-attached for your use) indicates that perennial vegetative cover of the Big Sagebrush reference area was 60.5 percent in 1979 and 59.0 percent in 1980. Perennial vegetative cover of the Alkali Sagebrush reference area (Appendix F, Page 14) was 34.0 percent in 1979 and 36.5 percent in 1980. It is unclear from the permit document which vegetation type the 1984 seeded area is in. Therefore, total vegetation cover of the area may be meeting the historic cover of the Alkali Sagebrush refer- ence area but not the Big Sagebrush reference area. It should be noted that, upon bond release request, the reference area(s) will have to be sampled ade- quately the same year as the re vegetated area(s). Also, please refer to the acreage values stated at the top of Appendix F, Page 11, to start to get some idea of how many acres of each vegetation type have been disturbed. I know from my own planimeter measurements and from Wyoming Fuels Company statements in the Phase 1 Bond Release request that 82 acres have presently been dis- turbed and are in some phase of final reclamation. This figure does not agree with the acreage figures in Appendix F so further research into this matter will be necessary. The plant community was dominated by grasses. Specifically Canada bluegrass (Relative cover = 35.4%), Western wheatgrass (Relative cover = 18.8%), Big bluegrass (Relative cover = 14.6%), and Thickspike wheatgrass are the 215 Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203.2273 Tel. (303) 866-3567