Laserfiche WebLink
<br />INTRODUCTION <br />Vegetation parameters for five previously reclaimed mine pits and the <br />corresponding undisturbed reference area at the Rockcastle Company's <br />(Rockcastle) Grassy Creek Mine near Hayden, Colorado were sampled during <br />October, 1990. The purpose of the vegetative sampling was to determine <br />whether the revegetation success criteria of Rule 4.15.8 of the Regulations of <br />the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining, as revised 17 <br />January 1990, have been satisfied. <br />Revegetation success was evaluated according to the noted applicable <br />regulatory requirements with consideration to the approved reclamation plan <br />and proposed postmining land use, as well as specifically applicable <br />agreements with the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Division (CMLRD). The <br />parameters sampled and analyzed in this evaluation include vegetative cover, <br />herbaceous production, and species diversity. Woody plant density was not <br />evaluated because the CMLRD waived requirements for woody plant <br />reestablishment consistent with the stated desires of the surface owner and the <br />proposed postmining land use. <br />SAMPLING METHODS <br />Prior to initiation of field work, the permit document sections describing <br />vegetation sampling and reclamation were reviewed. This information was then <br />compared with revegetation monitoring data previousy collected at this site. <br />Included in this review was data collected by the CMLRD in 1984, 1985 and <br />1989 and the results of a comprehensive monitoring effort conducted at this sfte <br />in October 1989 by IMS Inc. QMS). Mr. Matt Hayes of the CMLAD, who <br />assisted in the CMLRD's 1989 monitoring efforts, reported that the 1989 <br />sampling was confined to Pits 1 and 5. The IMS work was completed with the <br />1 <br />