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Introduction <br />At the request of Mr. George Patterson, General Mine Manager of the Kerr Coal Company Marr <br />Mine, Phase III bond release revegetation sampling was conducted during the summer of 2009 <br />on various reclaimed areas and corresponding reference areas located at the Marr Mine located <br />near Walden, Jackson County, Colorado. <br />Revegetation monitoring was conducted two reclaimed areas consisting of the 1999 Reclamation <br />Block and at the Kerr,ripple. According to the 2008 Annual Reclamation Report Map, the <br />1999 Reclamation Block consists of two areas located to the east and southeast of the old mine <br />maintenance and office building and contains a total of 8.2935 acres. At the Kerr Tipple, there <br />is a total of 3.7035 acres of 1999 reclamation that was sampled. 11ie Alkali Sagebrush <br />Reference Area as shown on Map 18, Kerr Mine Area Vegetation Map, which corresponds to the <br />only pre-mining vegetation type associated with 1999 Reclamation Block was also sampled. <br />Since this is the only pre-mining vegetation type associated with this reclaimed area, the Alkali <br />Sagebrush Reference Area was sampled as the revegetation success standard.. At the Kerr Tipple <br />site, the Kerr Tipple Reference area shown on Permit Map 19, Kerr Tipple Area Vegetation <br />Map was sampled to compare the revegetation success for the tipple reclamation. <br />The locations of these specific reclamation blocks are depicted on the Kerr Coal Company's <br />Annual Reclamation Report Maps and are reproduced on the enclosed vegetation transect <br />location maps. This revegetation monitoring effort was prepared with the intention of satisfying <br />the initial revegetation monitoring requirements and the first year of the final two years of the <br />Phase III monitoring requirement. <br />Mr. Kent Crofts of IME, who has conducted numerous previous vegetation sampling efforts at <br />the Marr Mine, and numerous other mine sites in northwest Colorado in the past 32 years, <br />directly supervised all field investigations. Assisting in this sampling effort was Mr. Eli <br />Peterson, who acted as the field GPS technician and was responsible for determining all of the <br />transect locations using the Trimble Model Geo XH Positioning System. Both individuals <br />performed all of the field sampling and data analysis. Assisting in the analysis of the field data <br />was Ms. Loraine Crofts who weighted the plant samples and assisted with summarizing the field <br />data sheets. <br />Methods <br />Maps, in bath electronic and hard paper format of all of the reclamation blocks and reference <br />areas sampled in this monitoring effort were supplied by Mr. George Patterson, General Aline <br />Manager of Energy Fuels Coal Inc., who also delineated to the crews in the field, the exact <br />extent of the reclamation efforts at the Marr Mine. 'l'lhe specific sampling methodologies used in <br />this evaluation are those found in the Division's "Guidelines with Land Use and Vegetation <br />Requirements of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Wining" issued in <br />June of 1988 and the "Guidelines Regarding Selected Coal Mine Bond Release Issues" issued