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Doc Date:1211112001 III 111111111111 ?'I <br />999 <br />• 4.4 RANGELAND <br />The reestablishment of rangelands on disturbed lands at Trapper Mine is a primary objective of <br />revegetation efforts at Trapper Mine. The revegetation plan for rangelands, Section 3.6.3 details <br />methods and procedures by which the above goal will be achieved. Methods of determining whether <br />successful rangeland reestablishment has been obtained are discussed in this section along with field <br />techniques and methods of data reduction. All lands within Trapper Mine's proposed permit area are <br />considered to be shrublands (refer to Section 2.3). <br />,5/ i/4.4.1 Conceptual Plan for Testing Revegetation Success <br />Trapper Mine's plan for testing revegetation success originally relied on the theory of reference areas to <br />compare with reclaimed sites. While intuitively this concept would appear to accommodate year to year <br />variations and vegetation trends over time, it has not yet been proven that biotic and abiotic influences <br />will be similar enough for any two separate areas to behave the same way and maintain the same <br />relationship over time. Confirmation of the theory is considered a prerequisite to- using it for testing <br />revegetation success. Presently, that theory has not been confirmed. Thus, the methods proposed for <br />testing revegetation success are not based on reference areas. Trapper Mine, however, reserves the <br />right to revisit the proposed methods at a future time if circumstances so dictate. <br />• Success will be judged on the basis of three parameters and their interpretation. These are: 1) canopy <br />cover of herbaceous species and litter, 2) total standing biomass of herbaceous species, and 3) a woody <br />stem density of 400 stems/acre. Where the planned primary post-mining land uses are both grazing of <br />domestic livestock and habitat for important wildlife species (range sites A and B), all three parameters <br />will be used to judge success. For range site C, only the first two standards, canopy cover and standing <br />biomass of herbaceous species, will be applied. Diversity of reclaimed areas will be evaluated from <br />cover data expressed as composition. <br />4.4.1.1 Herbaceous Cover Standards <br />The required standards, cover and production, are complementary evaluations of a reclaimed area. A <br />production standard provides the regulatory authority assurance that a parcel of reclaimed land is <br />capable of supporting the intended postmine land use. In our case, these uses are grazing and wildlife <br />habitat. <br />The cover standard functions as a protection to the soil resource. It insures that sufficient topsoil is <br />maintained to promote some level of plant production on reclaimed lands. The cover standard should be <br />such that it promotes a reasonably stable landscape. Moreover, on the average, soil building processes <br />should exceed soil degradation or loss. <br />• <br />4-101 <br />Revision: r?- af <br />Approved: Z/i9 y8