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~' ~ INTRODUCTION .: ,.;.::.. .. .~...:;.: a.a . ........... ..... .. x.. Sa... • •aF. vim. n .G ::..:.....:::::.:.a...n.:..............:..:::.:...~......:..::.....n..:::........:....:.[......:...:...~....:.`...[..[....:::J....:..... ...:.: fix.. .::..... un...::: ,; ...k.: T'... ...::.: :......n.. J,.: i...n The Canadian Strip Mine (Permit No. C-81-026) is a relatively small reclaimed surface coal ' mine located 12 miles east of Walden, Colorado. The permit area occupies approximately 155 ~ acres in portions of Sections 2, 10, and 11 of Township 8 North and Range 78 West. Reclamation of disturbed areas began in 1979, 1980, and 1981 in Areas I, II, and III, ' respectively, and was completed in Area IV in 1987. The site was eligible for Phase I bond release upon completion of the two phases of reclamation. Consequently, on 18 December 1987, an application was filed with the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Division (now the Division of Minerals and Geology (Division)) for Phase I bond release. Release was granted on 22 December 1988. Phase II bond release was approved by ' the Division for Areas I, II, and III (22.9 acres) of the reclaimed area on 13 November 1991. The vegetation cover success standard of ninety percent of the reference area cover with ninety percent statistical accuracy was not met on the remaining 52.7 acres of recla'uned area (Area IV), resulting in denial of the Phase II bond release for that area. The purpose of this report is two-fold. First, woody plant density data collected during 1993 is presented as required by a commitment to conduct this monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the 1991 shrub seeding. Second, Slurco Corporation is attempting to achieve Phase II bond release on the Area IV reclamation of the site. Vegetation data collected during 1990, 1992 and 1993 indicates that the reclaimed area is not progressing toward the standard and that there may be a problem with excessive shrub cover in the reference area for comparison of the reclaimed areas. ' The following sections of this report provide the results of the field data collected on both the reference and reclaimed area vegetation monitoring during 1992 and 1993. This data is also compared to 1990 data for the purpose of evaluating the progression of the vegetative community on the area not yet released from its Phase II bond. Conclusions which have been derived from ' this analysis are also presented and recommendations from the Division are requested. 1 1