GENERAL30618 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

-48- the Gunnison. Steep north facing slopes at higher elevations support stands of douglas fir (Pseudotsu a menziesii). Riparian vegetation, including cottonwood trees opu us an us~i oTia), shrubs such as willow (Salix sPP.) and hawthorne (Crataegus sPP. and numerous herbaceous species, occurs along undisturbed sections of the North Fork of the Gunnison flood plain. The 19-acre existing surface disturbance at the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 and the 8-acre surface disturbance at the Bear No. 3 impact wet mixed shrub at the face-up areas and portal benches and riparian types at the office and shop facilities and the sedimentation ponds. The vegetation in the vicinity of the proposed Bear No. 3 Mine has been disturbed by previous mining activities. The entire 19-acre area at the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 site will be reclaimed to wildlife habitat and that reclamation will entail the removal of all facilities, backfilling of the portals, reclamation of all roads, diversions and culverts and reseeding the entire area. The area occupied by the tipple and loadout, and designated as "highway right-of-way and highway relocation" has been reseeded by the Highway Department following completion of their project. The Division requested that BCC indicate the approximate acreage and location of areas to be broadcast and drill seeded and suggested that serviceberry, bitterbrush and chokecherry be included in the broadcast steep slope mixture. The Division indicated that woody species would not need to be included in the drill seed mixture, since the deeper alluvial soils which will be drill seeded generally support a primarily herbaceous community. The applicant responded that approximately 5.13 acres on the steep slopes of the backfilled portals and face-up area will be broadcast seeded. The remainder of the reclaimed area will be drill seeded. The proposed seed mixture will include five native cool season grasses, three adopted fortis, including two legumes, and three shrubs, in the broadcast mixture only. (See Table 10, Seed Mixture [Bear No. 1 and No. 2]). The Division requested that the applicant indicate how a roughened seedbed would be prepared on the steep, backfilled portal areas. The applicant responded that, where possible, a small dozer will "cat-track" the area or drag a chain to roughen the surface. On slopes where equipment cannot operate, the surface will be roughened by hand raking or chaining. The Division questioned the types and application rate of mulch to be used on the steep slopes of the reclaimed surface. The applicant stated that, following topsoiling, 1 ton per acre of straw mulch would be distributed on flat areas and 2 tons per acre would be applied to the steeper slops of the backfilled portals. The steep slopes above the portal face-up areas will be stabilized by excelsior or jute mesh netting after seeding. The following concerns were raised during the review with respect to revegetation plans for the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 Mines and the Bear No. 3 Mine. The applicant proposed a sampling plan for evaluating the success of revegetation. The Division recommended that certain changes and additions be incorporated into that plan. These changes included that cover measurements on the reclaimed area will be taken along randomly located 25 meter