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• Section 2.05.4(,.(e) Rev tation (continued) <br />'v r i At least three warm season grasses, two cool season grasses and one <br />perennial forb, each contributing at least 3% but not greater than 40% relative cover. <br />In August of 1997, Landmark Reclamation submitted a technical revision to revise the <br />standards. These standards are listed below: <br />Total, non-noxious, perennial vegetative cover: 41 <br />Total herbaceous production: 5141bs/acre <br />Species diversity: Using relative cover for each species, the reclaimed areas will have at <br />least three perennial grass species each with relative importance equal to or greater than 3%. <br />No individual species which provides in excess of 60% relative cover can be counted toward <br />the diversity standard. At least one of the grasses will be a warm season species and at ]east <br />one will be a cool season grass. <br />The following reasons were given for the changes to the vegetation success standards: <br />1. Reduction of the herbaceous cover standard from 43% to 41%. The previous standard was <br />• based on the baseline data which included cover from noxious weeds and annual or biennial <br />species. These types of species are not allowed to be applied toward the reclaimed area <br />success standard and therefore their contribution to the technical standard should be deleted. <br />The baseline data indicates that in 1993, an estimated 43.8% vegetative cover was found to <br />exist in areas that were to be mined. This value (which must have been rounded to 43%, the <br />old technical standard value) included 2.6% absolute cover contributed by noxious, annual, and <br />biennial species. Actual perennial, non-noxious baseline cover was estimated at 41.2% which, <br />when rounded to the neazest integer, results in a value of 41 %. The 90% fraction of this value <br />is 36.9%. <br />2. Lowering the scecies diversity standard to require that three species be present in relative <br />quantities between 3 and 60%. The change is partly based on the fact that the site is fairly <br />small and consistent in exposure and habitat. It is very optimistic to expect an 11 acre site to <br />have enough diversity of habitat that six species will be present in fairly even amounts. <br />Additionally, there is precedent for a lower standard at other small mine sites. The Beaz No. <br />& 2 mine (which has gone through Phase Ill bond release) had a success standard as follows: <br />-4- <br />Revised 8/7/97 <br />• ~"I~ <br />