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Savage and Savage <br />practice/so/tr4oas r6r environ~nm/problems <br />464 West Sumac Court <br />Louisville, Colorado 80027-2227 <br />September 18, 1995 <br />Land Restoration and Reclamation Services <br />Mr. Tony Waldron, Environmental Protection Specialist <br />Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology <br />1313 Sherman St., Room 2l5 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />ilti~rlu-~rll <br />303 6GCr7372 telephone <br />303 665-6808 (acsimilc <br />~,. <br />a:. <br />RECEIVED <br />SEP 19 1995 <br />Division of Minerals & Geology <br />Re: Vegetation sampling proposal for Mountain Coal Company, West Elk Mine, LRP II <br />project <br />Dear Tony: <br />Mountain Coal Company has asked Savage and Savage to prepare the baseline vegetation <br />information for a conceptual (at this time) expansion of the Lower Refuse Pile to the east of <br />it's current location. Based on our meeting of September 12, 1995 and discussions regarding <br />the baseline vegetation sampling requrrements and revegetation success requirements, I am <br />proposing the following baseline sampling program for your comment. <br />To briefly recap the project, Mountain Coal Company is considering expanding the current <br />Lower Refuse File to the east of Sylvester Gulch and the current mine entrance road. The <br />proposed refuse pile would be based at approximately the same elevation and be constructed to <br />approximately the same height as the currently approved pile. The expansion pile would <br />disturb two vegetation communities. The largest vegetation community to be disturbed would <br />be the oakbrvsh community. As currently conceived, a minor wetland community (0.3 acres) <br />between State Highway 133 and the toe of the proposed pile would be covered. <br />OAKBRUSH COMMUNITY <br />SamoGne Methods <br />Vegetation sampling will employ quantitative methods previously accepted by CDMG. <br />Timing of all sampling will be consistent with plant anthesis and/or maximum biomass <br />development. All transects will be randomly located within the oakbrush community. <br />The community will be gridded on a map (1"=200') and sample locations randomly <br />selected through use of random numbers generated by computer and assigned to the <br />grid. Transects will be randomly oriented in direction. <br />