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conducted under the direct supervision of Cedar Creek's Senior Range Ecologist, Mr. Steven R. Viert, <br />Senior Plant Ecologist, Mr. Erik M. Mohr, and/or Range Ecologist, Mr. Jesse H. Dillon. <br />The remainder of this document is divided into logical sections. Section 2.0 provides results by mine <br />area (East Pit, Section 16, & West Pit) by revegetated unit. Each unit and resulting data / mapping is <br />separately presented along with a brief discussion of any pertinent observations and/or <br />recommendations. Section 2.0 also presents results of data collected from the (SU Shrub Plots in East <br />Pit. Section 3.0 presents pertinent conclusions and/or recommendations. A description of field methods <br />utilized in 2008 is presented as Appendix AA, and raw data tables and supporting charts are presented in <br />Appendix AB. In this manner, only the most salient information is provided in the main body of this <br />document. Acreages presented in this document are determined by Colowyo's engineering and/or <br />permitting department. <br />Precipitation data presented on Table P and Chart P (following Map 1) is the average of two weather <br />stations at the Colowyo Mine (SCN16 and WSTPT). Precipitation in the project area was determined to <br />be above average when compared with the eight-year average for the 2007 / 2008 growing season <br />(September 2007 through August 2008). However, this eight-year average is potentially below the actual <br />long-term average for the mine given that 2001 through 2004 are recognized as below-average <br />precipitation years region wide (drought years). For example, the nearest official weather station (Craig <br />4SW) received only 44% of its average precipitation in 2001, 51% in 2002, 86% in 2003, and 83% in <br />2004. Given this analysis the long-term average precipitation at the Colowyo mine is most likely in the <br />19 inch range as opposed to the recent seven-year average of 17.7 inches. 'Therefore, precipitation <br />during the 2007 / 2008 growing season (20.0 inches) was most likely only slightly above average as <br />opposed to well above average. Precipitation during the growing season was above average with April, <br />May, and June exhibiting 1.94, 2.79, and 1.08 inches, respectively. <br />Rio Tinto Energy America/Colowyo Mine Page 2 Revegletation Monitoring - 2008