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ESTABLISI~i iENT OF HISTORIC RECORD TECHMCAL STANDARDS <br />FOR REVEGETATED AREAS <br />MOUNTAIN COAL COMPANY <br />WFST ELK MINE <br />The relocation of the West Elk Mine facilities ro Sylvester Gulch with the attendant <br />disturbance of the Dry Meadow Reference Area illustrates one of the problems with <br />maintaining and managing reference areas over the life of a mining operation. Mining <br />operations, being dynamic and responding to changing conditions, often modify the <br />mining and reclamation plans during the course of their [ife of operations. As <br />vegetation communities are dynamic assemblages of vegetation which tt;spond ro <br />outside influences (predation, fire, micro-climatic change, managerttent), tfieir basic <br />characteristics may change significantly over the ]ife of a mine. Further, since the <br />majority of revegetatioa is trot directed toward the specific re~stablishement of <br />disturbed vegetation communities, the usefulness of retaining reference areas as <br />determinants of revegetation success is rightfully questioned. <br />There ate two options available for establishing revegetation success criteria which do <br />not rely on reference arras: technical standards and historic records. Techtrical <br />standards rely oa published information for a specific vegetation community, which <br />provide quantitative values for revegetation success parameter (specifically vegetation <br />Dover. herbaceous production, woody pLmt density, or species diversity). In order ro <br />6e used by a mine for revegetation standards, the published litrratttre must be <br />dearonsuated ro be specifically applicable to the vegetation community ro be disturbed. <br />is the vicinity of the mine. Secondly, the teehaica! standard must be approved by the <br />Colorado Division of MineraLS and Geology (CDMG) cad the federal Office of Surface <br />Mmiag Reclamation and Enforcement. Historic records rely oo the quantitative <br />sampling of an area ro be disturbed or equivalent aces for several growing seasons. <br />The revegetadon success standard is then derived from the mean of the parameter <br />sampled over several growing seasons. The advantage of a historic record revegetation <br />success «iterion is that it is site specific cad reflects the growth conditions which can <br />be e:pocood at the rechtmation site. Further. economic and time savings are realized at <br />bond release, as there is no need ro sample one or more reference areas ro establish the <br />revegeration success criteria values. Nor is there the need ro maintain reference arras <br />during the course of the life of the mine. <br />ESTABLISHMF.N1' OF THE HISTORIC RECORD STANDARDS <br />A;easy Coormmttoa <br />Mountain Coal Company (MCC) contacted CDMG to explore options for establishing <br />revegetation strccess criteria through the use of historic records. The suggestion was <br />