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~~l ~ ~~~ <br />rncirnnmrmal trirmisls aril engines <br />Vegetation Sampling at <br />Sun Coal's Meadows <br />No. 1 Mine <br />August, 1992 <br />IMS Inc. sampled vegetation in one reference azea and two reclaimed areas for the <br />Meadows No. 1 mine neaz Hayden, Colorado on July 27 and 28, 1992. The <br />purpose of the sampling was to chazacterize vegetation on previously mined lands <br />with respect to revegetation success standards for vegetation cover, herbaceous <br />production and species diversity. Woody plant density was not sampled in 1991 <br />or 1992. Following the approval of a technical revision earlier in 1992, there will <br />be a revegetation success criterion for woody plant density only on the portion of <br />the reclaimed area owned by John Eilts. This portion comprises about 20 percent <br />of the total reclaimed azea. It remains apparent from visual inspection that shrub <br />density on the Eilts reclaimed area would not meet the approved revegetation <br />success criterion for woody plant density. <br />Revegetation success criteria for herbaceous production, total vegetation cover and <br />species diversity aze specified in the permit application for the Meadows No. 1 <br />mine. Sampling methods are also given in the pemtit application. Thomas A. <br />Colbert was the project manager for this project; Steve Viert was field supervisor. <br />Assisting in the sampling were Steve Long and Steve Johnson. <br />Sampling Methods <br />IMS discussed sampling methods prior to the 1990 sampling with Matt Hayes of <br />the Division of Mined Land Reclamation. These were subsequently clarified in a <br />memo from IMS to the Division dated July 6, 1990. The same methods for <br />sampling vegetation cover and herbaceous production were employed in 1991 and <br />1992. For vegetation cover, a transect method was proposed in lieu of the quadrat <br />method used in the vegetation baseline inventory. This method is more in <br />conformance with the Division's technical guideline for vegetation sampling. The <br />Division approved this change. <br />One reference area and two reclaimed azeas were sampled. The reclaimed areas are <br />separated on the basis of land ownership-roughly 80 acres owned by Gtassy <br />Creek Coal and about 20 acres owned by John Eilts. The reference area, a three- <br />-~- <br />