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<br />3.0 RESULTS <br />The reclaimed area that is the subject of this bond release application was revegetated prior to 1986 <br />and its subsequent history has been documented in the approved reclamation plan and annual reports <br />submitted to the DRMS over the years and is not presented again in this document. To facilitate an <br />evaluation of revegetation success, comparison has been made with parameters from the approved <br />reference areas and / or standards as appropriate. <br />Vegetation data collected utilizing accepted scientific metrics and statistical analyses from both the <br />reclaimed areas ~~s well as that collected from the reference areas during 2006 and 2007 have been <br />organized, summ~~rized, and presented on a variety of tables and charts in Appendix A. Representative <br />photographs of tFie sampled areas at the time of sampling are presented in Plates 1 - 16 in Appendix A <br />as well. <br />3.1 General <br />Review of the summary data and comparisons presented on Tables 1 and 2 in Appendix A indicates <br />that the Applicant's revegetation efforts for the Blue Ribbon Mine have passed all applicable comparisons <br />in accordance with Rule 3 03 Release of Performance Bonds as well as those of the promul4ated <br />Vegetation Guidelines (April 18 1995) Therefore the Blue Ribbon Mine meets all of the vegetation <br />criteria for release of Phase III bonds for the first and second years (2006 & 2007) of the two-vear <br />evaluation. <br />3.2 Total Herbaceous Cover <br />Total herbaceous cover is one of the main variables that must pass revegetation success evaluations <br />in both community types in accordance with Rule 3.03. Review of Tables 1 & 2 and Charts 1 & 2 indicate <br />that total herbaceous cover mean for both revegetated areas substantially exceeds 90% of the value for <br />the analogous reference area (success criterion) in 2006 and 2007. <br />Year Re~veoetation Mean (~io coven Success Criterion ~°io cover) Sample Adeauacv <br />2006 Grassland 54.29 20.11 Yes <br />2007 Grassland 58.22 54.12 Yes <br />2006 Riparian 52.55 41.83 Yes <br />2007 Riparian 59.40 41.22 Yes <br />CEDAR CREEK ASStKIATES, Inc. <br />Page 9 <br />Blue Ribbon Mine -Phase III <br />Bond Release Evaluation - 2007 <br />