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<br />A portion of the study area (approximately 170 acres) could not be <br />sampled due to weather and grazing prior to installing exclosures. The winter <br />of 83-84 was particularly harsh for northwestern Colorado. Snowfall reached <br />record levels and by spring, snowmelt caused severe flooding and landslides <br />in the study area. Roads were washed out or blocked by slides and access was <br />virtually impossible. Once road access was established exclosures were <br />installed. Grazing in the study area had been limited due to access, however <br />one week prior to installing exclosures grazing began in the mouth of West <br />Fork when 3D00 sheep were put into the area and herded up the hillside to the <br />north. It was decided that study site locations in the grazed area would be <br />abandoned and that new random locations be selected. <br />Not all vegetation types in the study area were sampled with the same <br />intensity. Ftajor vegetation types, (those whose area was greater than 5 <br />percent of the total proposed disturbance) were quantitatively sampled. Minor <br />vegetation types, (those whose area extent was less than five percent of the <br />total proposed disturbance) were sampled qualitatively as per agreement with <br />CMLRD (see letter Appendix A). <br />2.3.2 REFERENCE AREA SELECTION <br />Reference areas were selected according to the following criteria: 1) <br />the vegetation types were similar to those within the study area, 2) the <br />soils, slope, topography, and elevation of a vegetation type were similar to <br />those within the same vegetation type in the study area, 3) the dominant <br />species of a vegetation type were similar to those within the same vegetation <br />type in the study area, 4) the areas were potentially able to be controlled <br />by the Consolidation Coal Company and 5) surface disturbance was not <br />contemplated in the areas. <br />4 <br />Exhibit 10, Item 5 Revision Date: 03/06/07 <br />9 Revision No.: PR-02 <br />