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Vegetation Monitoring for Phase III Bond Release HG Mine, Routt Co., CO INTRODUCTION Eour small areas will be sampled in July 2004 to assess the adequacy of revegetation. Three of these areas are shrub enclosure sites that total 7.5 acres. The fourth area is a small site associated with a repaired highwall slope that covers slightly over one acre Methods to be used are set forth below. Sampling will be conducted by ESCO Associates Inc. METHODS Sample Locations and Number Each of the three shrub enclosure areas will have five randomly located cover/production/shrub density samples and an additional five shrub density-only sites. The very small highwall repair site will have three randomly located cover/production/shrub density sample transects placed in it. Cover Sampling Cover data will be collected along 50 m transects using a point intercept method in which data are recorded as interceptions of a point with plant species, litter, standing dead plant material, soil or rock. Intercepted plant matter produced during the current year and still standing are tallied by species. Litter will be considered to be any organic material that had fallen, or had begun to fall to the soil surface. Standing dead will be any dead plant material that was produced in previous years but which is still standing and had not lodged or broken off to become litter. Inorganic materials greater than 1 cm in diameter will be considered rock. The cover sampling points will be optically projected using aCover-Point Optical Point Projection Device developed by ESCO Associates. The 50 m transects will be randomly located and oriented in the reclaimed and reference areas. Apre-determined number of points (100) will be collected at each transect and distributed evenly along the transect. A pair of points will be collected at specified (one- meter) intervals with points sampled on opposite sides of the transect 0.5 m from the transect. 6/27/04 1 ESCO Associates Inc.