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~• will be replaced along the contour. The seedbed on steep slopes will be <br />roughened by "cat tracking" the area with a small bulldozer or by dragging a <br />chain over the area. If the area is too steep for equipment operation, the <br />seedbed will be roughened by hand. Two tons per acre of straw mulch will be <br />blown onto steep slopes while one ton per acre of mulch will be blown on to flat <br />areas. The steep slope areas will be broadcast seeded while flatter areas will be <br />drill seeded. lute netting will be used to hold mulch in place on the steep <br />slopes. <br />Cover measurements on the reclaimed area will be taken along randomly located <br />transects. A point frame will be used to record 50 equally spaced measurements <br />per transect. A minimum of ten transects will be required. Vegetation cover <br />will be recorded by species. First and second hits on vegetation will be used in <br />the calculation of percent cover. Each separate transect would be one sample, <br />with the pereeat cover value for each sample determined by totalling the fast <br />hits on vegetation and dividing by 50. Hits on bare ground, rock and litter will <br />be recorded separately. If sample adequacy is not met with ten transects, <br />additional transects will be located and measured until adequacy is obtained. <br />Herbaceous production sampling will consist of clipping the herbaceous <br />vegetation in quarter meter plots located along ffie previously discussed <br />transects. Five plots will be clipped along each transect. A minimum of five <br />transects, the first five randomly selected transects, will be required. If sample <br />adequacy is not met with this minimum number, more randomly located <br />transects will be sampled until adequacy is met. <br />Measurements of woody plant density will consist of counting the number of <br />shrubs with 25 randomly located lm x 25m, belt transects. <br />Due to the fact that the area adjacent to the Bear No. 3 portal has been <br />previously disturbed, the success criteria of Rule 4.15.10 are applicable. <br />Specifically, the ground cover of living plants shall not be less than can be <br />supported by the best available topsoil and shall be sufficient to control erosion. <br />The more stringent requirements of Rule 4.15.8, which include meeting <br />standards for herbaceous production and species diversity, are applicable to <br />reclaimed areas at the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 Mines and areas of Bear No. 3 that <br />were not disturbed by previous mining operations. <br />Bear Coal Company has requested, pursuant to Rule 4.15.7(2)(d)(vi), that the <br />Division set the revegetation success standards for the Bear Mine for the <br />parameters of herbaceous cover and production, species diversity and woody <br />plant density based on local environmental conditions and available data for <br />similar sites. The standards are listed below. <br /> <br />27 <br />