2009-06-02_PERMIT FILE - C1982057A ‎(8)‎

• Permit No: C1982057A
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 6/2/2009
• Doc Name: Aspen Study Plan
• Section_Exhibit Name: Tab 22 Appendix 22-3
• Media Type: D
• Archive: Yes

9.0 RESULTS
is If this irrigation study and these field trials fail-i.e. if aspens do not survive and/or do not produce
adventitious roots, which are likely to produce aspen stands-then SCC will re-evaluate these
practices and propose alternate post mine vegetation types.
If these studies and field trials prove successful then SCC will apply these techniques to the aspen
establishment plots as depicted in Exhibit 22-1 and 22-1A, Post Mine Vegetation Map.
Due to the study design and the speed of aspen root development, SCC will make an evaluation of
these trials and tests by the fall of 2008.
*adventitious root ari ing or oa-urring sporadically or arising in other than the usual location; roots suckering,
sprouting, or spreading from a main stem.
2009 Update
A pilot study was conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of supplemental irrigation on growth
and survival of transplanted aspen sapling trees, where the experimental conditions allowed
observation on several additional variables.
In all there have been three (3) reports completed on the studies:
1. Transplanting Aspen on Reclaimed Coal Mine Land Using Drip Irrigation - 2006 Report
Robert C. Musselman and Wayne D. Shepperd, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research
Station, 240 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526, February 2007
• 2. Response of Transplanted Aspen to Drip Irrigation on Reclaimed Mine Lands -Final Report
Robert C. Musselman, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 240 West
Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526
Wayne Shepperd, Frederick W. Smith, Brian Gee, Department of Forest, Rangeland and
Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, November 2007
3. The Use of Landscape Fabric and Supplemental Irrigation to Enhance Survival and Growth of Woody Perennials
Planted on Reclaimed Surface Mine Lands
Robert C. Musselman and Lance A. Asherin, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research
Station, 240 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526
Wayne Shepperd, Frederick W. Smith, Brian Gee, Department of Forest, Rangeland and
Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, February 2009
The complete reports are contained in the Seneca II-W Annual Reclamation Reports for 2007, 2008
and 2009. Following is a brief summary of the findings and conclusions for each report.
Transplanting Aspen on Reclaimed Coal Mine Land Using Drip Irrigation - 2006 Report
The study examined the feasibility of using supplemental drip irrigation to establish aspen on
reclaimed coal mine overburden soils. The objective examined the survival, growth, and water status
of irrigated aspen transplants.
The aspen were planted in October 2004. Water was delivered during the 2005 and 2006 growing
seasons by drip irrigation to the transplanted aspen saplings via a computer-controlled system that
• timed the daily application of water through calibrated emitters. Source of the irrigation water during
the 2005 and most of the 2006 season Quly-September) was from on-site Sedimentation Pond 006.
TR-62 22-3-6 Revised 5/09