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In 2005, perennial grasses contributed an average. of 19.35 g/1/4mZ or 66.00 percent of the forage production and perennial forbs, contributed 9.96 g/1/4mZ or 34.001 percent of the forage production on this area. In 2004, perennial grasses produced 24.52 g/1/4mZ or 72.59 percent and perennial forbs, contributed 9.26 g/1/4mZ or 27.41 percent of the forage producfion. The revegetation forage production success standard for the Raton Creek Mine is 300 pounds of air dry forage per acre. Since this site in 2005 was detemrined to average 1,045.3 pounds of air dry forage per acre and in 2004 averaged 1,203.9 pounds of air dry forage per acre, it can be concluded that this area satisfies the revegetation success standard with respect to forage production during both years of monitoring. The locations of the 30 production transects sampled on this site are shown on Map 1, Raton Creek Mine - 2005 Vegetation Transect Location Map. Copies of the individual field data sheets for the forage production sampling of this site are found in Exhibit B -Copies of the Raton Creek Mine - 2005 -Production Field Data Sheets. The sample adequacy calculations in Table 2, Raton Creek Mine Sample Adequacy Calculations, documents that the number of production transects required to characterize this site at the 90 percent confidence interval was 67.6 transects. Since the reclaimed area production at the Raton Creek Mine in 2005 and 2004 (1,045.3 pounds and 1,203.9 pounds, respectively) is greater than the revegetation success standard (300 pounds per acre,) it can be concluded that the permanent reclaimed areas on the Raton Creek Mine exceeds the forage production revegetation success standard and using the "reverse null hypothesis" contained in the Division's proposed regulations, sampling can stop at 30 transects. Shrub Density. The shrub density counts obtained from the 30 belt transects sampled on the Raton Creek Mine in 2005 are summarized in Table 5, Raton Creek Mine - 2005 -Shrub Density. The average shrub density from the 2005 sampling was calculated to equal 14.53 shrub stems per one hundred square meters. In 2004 the sampling of 250 shrub density transects was found to yield an average of 5.65 shrub stems per one hundred square meters or 228.6 shrub stems per acre. Rubber Rabbitbrush, Fourwing Saltbush and VJinterfat were the most commonly encountered shrubs. The revegetation shrub density success standard for this area as contained in the recently submitted Technical Revision is for a minimum of at least 167 shrubs per acre (4.1265 shrubs per 100 square meters) to be found on at least 26.26 percettt of the reclaimed area. The remaining 73.74 percent of the reclaimed area has no shrub density standard since this area was disturbed prior to being pemutted and as explained in the TR has no shrub density standard. Exa_min~on of Table 5, Raton Creek Mine - 2005 -Shrub Density reveals that 12 of the 30 traosects (40 percent of the transects sampled) exceeded the proposed woody plant density standard of 167 shrubs per acre (4.1265 shrubs per 100 square meters). These data document that the proposed shrub density standard is satisfied in the 2005 shrub density sampling. The locations of the 30 shrub density transects sampled at the Raton Creek Mine are shown on Map 1, Raton Creek Mine - 2005 Vegetation Transect Locafion Map. Copies of the individual field data sheets for the woody plant density sampling for this site are found in Exhibit C - Copies of the Raton Creek Mine - 2005 -Shrub Density Field Data Sheets. Examination of the sample adequacy calculations in Table 2, Raton Creek Mine Sample Adequacy Calculations,