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INTRODUCTION <br />Kaiser Steel Resources is submitting this Technical Revision No. 21 for the Chimney Rock <br />Coal Mine (Permit C-81-023) to revise the revegetation standards. This revision will provide <br />suitable reference areas and technical standards for dryland pasture, irrigated pasture, and <br />rangeland/wildlife habitat. <br />The reason for this change of reference areas and technical standards is a discrepancy in the <br />permit document. Currently approved post-mining land uses and associated reclamation of <br />disturbed areas are not consistent with the original revegetation standards still identified in <br />the permit. In 1980, reference areas and technical standards were established for the pinyon- <br />juniper and mountain shrub vegetation types. However, reclamation of disturbed lands at <br />the Chimney Rock Mine includes dryland pasture, irrigated pasture and rangeland/wildlife <br />habitat vegetation types. No reclamation of pinyon-juniper or mountain shrub will occur. As <br />a result, the potential for meeting shrub density and species diversity standards established <br />for the pinyon-juniper arid mountain shrub vegetation types appears to be quite low within <br />the 10 year liability period. <br />During June 1990 a vegetation study was conducted at the Chimney Rock Coal Mine. The <br />study's objective was to characterize two potential reference areas. Kaiser proposes to use <br />these reference areas to evaluate areas revegetated as dryland•pasture, irrigated pasture, or <br />rangeland wildlife. The same reference area will be utilized to determine revegetation <br />success for both the dryland pasture and rangeland/wildlife reclaimed areas. Vegetative <br />cover, production, and species composition were systematically sampled and evaluated. <br />f The following sections of this evaluation provide the vegetation methods and results to be <br />applied to the permit upon approval of this technical revision. The results are presented as <br />1 the standards to be used to evaluate revegetation success for the 10-year liability period and <br />J bond release. <br />1 <br />