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plant could be counted was dependent upon the location of its main stem or root collar where it exited <br />the ground surface with regard to belt limits. A total of 45 belt transects were sampled for the Phase III <br />bond release area during each year. Sample adequacy was determined for informational purposes only. <br />The second method is total enumeration and was used on 9 shrub patches that were previously <br />mapped within the reclaimed community. This method involved total counts of woody plant populations <br />as opposed to estimates of mean densities through statistical sampling. Implementation of the total <br />count technique involved circumscribing the boundaries of the target polygon with hip -chain thread while <br />following the GPS boundary. Once a unit was circumscribed in this manner, a team of two or more <br />persons walking shoulder -to- shoulder traversed the plot enumerating each plant by species. The person <br />farthest inside the line of observers trailed hip -chain thread to mark their path to prevent missing or <br />double counting specimens on subsequent passes. The distance between observers was usually 15 feet <br />or less depending on the height of grasses and the presence of low growing taxa such as rose or <br />snowberry. Each internal observer also "zigzagged" as they progressed, occasionally turning to view the <br />area just passed to ensure visual coverage of the entire portion of the plot for which they were <br />responsible. Constant communication among crew members precluded double counting or missing of <br />plants located along the margins of observed paths. <br />2.4 Determination of Current Annual Production <br />At each sample site, current annual production was collected from a 1/2 m quadrat frame placed <br />one meter and 90 to the right (clockwise) of the ground cover transect to facilitate avoidance of <br />vegetation trampled by investigators during sample site location (Figure 1). From within each quadrat, <br />all above ground current annual vegetation within the vertical boundaries of the frame were clipped and <br />bagged separately by life form as follows: <br />Perennial Grass <br />Annual Grass <br />Sub - shrubs <br />Perennial Forb <br />Annual Forb <br />Noxious Weeds (if found) <br />All production samples were returned to the lab for drying and weighing. Drying was conducted at 105° <br />C until a stable weight was achieved (24 hours). Samples were then re- weighed to the nearest 0.1 <br />gram. <br />CEDAR CREEK ASSOCIATES, Inc. Page 13 Rio Tinto Energy America - Colowyo Mine <br />2009 Phase III Bond Release Evaluation — Year 2 <br />