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L <br />4 <br />Ms. Kay James <br />-2- January 10, 1984 <br />Stipulation No. 4 required lJalden Coal to develop, in cooperation with the <br />Division, methods and success criteria for the evaluation of species diversity <br />on reclaimed areas at the Bourg Strip Mine. Based on recommendations oy the <br />Division, and on standards proposed and accepted for the other mines in the <br />North Park Basin, Walden Coal has proposed to reestablisn two shrub species, <br />two cool season grasses, and one forb species on their reclaimed areas. The <br />Division finds this success criteria for diversity acceptable with the proviso <br />that no one of these species may comprise greater than 20 percent of the total <br />relative vegetative cover, nor may any one of these species comprise less tnan <br />3 percent of the total relative vegetative cover. If the data from the <br />reclaimed areas meet these requirements the Division will consider the <br />requirements for species diversity to have been met at the Bourg Strip. <br />Stipulation No. 5 requires that the permittee, in cooperation with the <br />Division, develop and implement a biennial revegetation monitoring plan. The <br />permittee has responded by committing to a biennial revegetation monitoring <br />plan of the following scope. A maximum of one transect for cover and <br />production per each five acres seeded will be conducted on a biennial basis to <br />evaluate cover and production. Methods for obtaining data from these <br />transects are proposed to be in accordance with methods set forth in <br />Appendix B of the permit application. The Division will accept the sampling <br />level of one transect per five acres seeded. The method proposed to evaluate <br />cover is not acceptable to the Division at this time in that it employs visual <br />estimates of cover from one square meter plots. The methods of evaluation of <br />cover acceptable to the Division are those which employ points or intercepts. <br />One of these methods must be employed in the calculation of cover during the <br />biennial revegetation monitoring. The pennittee must also assess woody plant <br />density and species diversity during biennial monitoring. Woody plant density <br />information should be quantitatively obtained from a quadrat, not unlike <br />production information. Sampling at the same level as for cover and <br />production is acceptable. Species diversity can be derived from cover <br />information. The data collected, and a discussion of the data and <br />revegetation effort must be submitted to the Division within 90 days of the <br />completion of sampling. <br />Stipulation No. 6 to the Bourg Strip permit required the permittee to conduct <br />aerial mapping and swell factor analyses in order to verify the swell factors <br />proposed in the permit and verify post-mining topographic projections. <br />Viewing the responses to this stipulation, Jim Pendleton of the Division felt <br />Walden Coal has adequately addressed the stipulation in their most recent <br />submittal in December of 1983. <br />Stipulation No. 1 to Technical Revision No. 1 required Walden Coal to provide <br />an appropriate acceptable surety in the amount of X10,150 as bond for the <br />Northgate Load-out facility. Walden Coal Company provided this surety in <br />September of 1983. <br />