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Reclamation Success Standazds <br />Seneca Coal Company proposes to determine revegetation success through the use of <br />reference areas incompliance with Rule 4.15.7. Seneca Coal Company proposes to <br />utilize the concept of extended reference areas. The extended reference azea <br />embodies all area outside of the approved disturbance area yet within the mine permit <br />boundary. Seneca Coal Company has suitably demonstrated that the extended <br />reference area is statistically representative of the pre-mine communities in the <br />proposed mine disturbance area. The minimum acreages available for the extended <br />reference azea vegetation types will be: Aspen woodland-100 acres, Mountain Brush- <br />600 acres, Sagebrush-200 acres, and Mesic Drainage and Subirrigated Pasture-8 <br />acres. <br />Cover and production reclamation success standards will be based on comparison of <br />the reclaimed azeas with the extended reference azeas, in agreement with Rule <br />4.15.7(3). Reclamation success standards for species diversity and woody plant <br />density shall be based on technical standazds agreed on between Seneca Coal <br />Company and the Division, as allowed by Rule 4.15.7(2)(d)(i). <br />The cover standazd will be calculated on anazea-weighted basis, this method is in <br />compliance with Rule 4. ] 5.7(4)(b). Only the three dominant vegetation types will be <br />utilized in the calculation to determine cover on the shrub grassland type reclaimed <br />communities. These three dominant types aze: Mountain shrub, aspen woodland, and <br />sagebrush. The cover compazison standard for the reclaimed mesic drainage azeas <br />will be based on the weighted average cover of the undisturbed mesic drainage type <br />and the improved pasture-subirrigated. Seneca Coal Company has proposed a cover <br />standazd of 35% for the haul road corridor. This proposal is in agreement with Rule <br />4.15.7(2)(d)(iv). The vegetation types along the haul road corridor aze considered of <br />minor significance in azeal extent and are not considered critical or unique habitat. <br />The 35% cover standazd is based upon weighted mean cover data collected in pre- <br />mine sampling of the sagebrush, western wheatgrass/alkali sagebrush, alkali <br />sagebrush/greasewood, and alkali meadow vegetation types. <br />Success of vegetative cover in the shrub establishment areas will be compared to a <br />weighted average of the herbaceous cover on the three dominant vegetation <br />communities in the mine area. The Division recognizes that the herbaceous cover in <br />the shrub areas may be less than that for the other parts of the mine. A reduction in <br />the herbaceous cover is intended to reduce competition and encourage the <br />establishment of shrubs and trees. <br />Reclamation success for production in the mine azea will be evaluated by comparing <br />herbaceous production in the reclaimed area to the weighted herbaceous production <br />in the reclaimed areas to the weighted herbaceous production value determined from <br />the extended reference azea. Herbaceous production will be estimated by clipping the <br />current year's above ground biomass in randomly located Zm2 to 1 m2 sample plots. <br />Yoast Mine 36 February 28, 2006 <br />