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• 5. REVEGETATION MONITORING <br />Requirement <br />Section 4.15.1(4) of the Colowyo Permit contains a plan for monitoring the initial success of <br />revegetation on reclaimed areas. <br />ResQgnse <br />During the summer of 1998, Colowyo completed vegetation monitoring on the following areas: <br />A. Herbaceous Frequency and Density of the 1997 Revegetated Area in the East, West and <br />Section 16 Pits. <br />B. Herbaceous Cover of the 1978, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993 and 1996 Revegetated Areas <br />Refer to Exhibit 10. 1998 Annual Report Map, for additional details as to the location of these areas. <br />C. 1998 Comprehensive Woody Plant Data for the establishment areas. <br />A. HERBACEOUS FREQUENCY AND DENSITY OF THE 1997 REVEGETATED AREA <br />The azea seeded in the fall of 1997 was undergoing the first growing season. Past sampling <br />methodologies continue to be used to obtain vegetation data. Two hundred fifty (250) placements <br />of a 60 cm X 60 cm frame was used and species occurrence was recorded. The East/West Pit Data <br />was combined separately from the Section 16 Pit Data. <br />The data has been summarized and the top 20 species by occurrence is presented in Exhibit <br />Revegetation Monitoring. The data indicates a reasonably diverse, successful establishment of <br />desirable perennial grasses and forbs, as well as the expected number of annual grasses and forbs. <br />B. HERBACEOUS COVER OF THE 1978. 1984. 1987. 1990. 1993 and 1996 RECLAIMED <br />AREAS <br />During the summer of 1996, the 1978, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993 and 1996 reclaimed areas were <br />sampled for herbaceous cover to monitor the initial success of the revegetation efforts. <br />Exhibit 5. Revegetation Monitoring, contains the results of this sampling. The data indicates an <br />initial establishment of herbaceous species meeting or exceeding Colowyo's expectations for the <br />reclamation plan and the requirements of the postmining land use. Overall, cover and diversity <br />generally appear adequate throughout the various stands. <br />Note that the data has been separated by reclamation year for the purpose of monitoring. Monitoring <br />for bond release would not separate the reclamation azeas by year, rather, all areas would be <br />combined together as one potential sampling block and randomly sampled. <br />C. WOODY PLANT DENSITY <br />During 1998 a comprehensive review of woody plant establishment was conducted. The results, <br /> <br />