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1) delineation of all post -2008 post- mining acreage exhibiting slopes 10% or flatter; 2) <br />elimination of all small, isolated, or impractical areas for targeting this community; 3) <br />implementing "banding" (alternating strips of grassland versus shrubland) procedures on <br />large units with long slopes that might otherwise lead to excessive "snowmelt" erosion; and <br />4) assuming 50% shrub establishment success (i.e. sufficient density) on the acreage that <br />actually receives shrub conducive metrics. Please refer to Map 44 for a visual representation <br />of areas that are < 10% slope at Colowyo Mine according to the current PMT surface. <br />Critical to the adoption of this approach is the need for Colowyo to be allowed to deviate <br />from the plan in instances where plan maps or specifications do not reflect "on- the - ground" <br />reality, and to the contrary, when opportunities for adding unplanned supplementary areas <br />targeting shrub establishment present themselves. By acceptance of this new approach, <br />Colowyo will be granted the flexibility to take advantage of day -to -day opportunities to <br />promote shrub establishment and be able to option out of planned areas if site conditions <br />prove significantly different than anticipated. Such flexibility will in no way be allowed to <br />circumvent the requirement to maintain a proper life -of -mine topsoil balance and overall plan <br />objective to improve shrub establishment. All significant deviations from plan maps and <br />expectations will be documented and submitted in the Annual Reclamation Report. In this <br />manner, as well as documentation through bond release evaluations, CDRMS will maintain <br />authority over any such deviations. <br />Related to this flexibility and as presented in revisions to Section 4.15, Colowyo commits to <br />revised woody plant density success criteria for Phase III bond release for 2008 and later <br />reclamation, that are somewhat less stringent than the original requirements, and are <br />significantly less stringent for pre -2008 reclamation, but are ecologically defensible and <br />appropriate. This commitment is in the interest of promoting the momentum of the bond <br />release process and the pursuit of a "land -use" based reclamation program. Furthermore, this <br />commitment on the part of Colowyo is based on the fact that the best reclamation science <br />(30+ years ago), and significant financial expenditure went into implementation of the <br />previous reclamation plan (and development of success criteria), and that recent experience <br />and advancements in reclamation science now dictate less stringent requirements for a 10- <br />year bond responsibility period. In other words, the original woody plant density success <br />criterion was developed without sufficient experience, knowledge, or empirical evidence and <br />as such was established at too high a level over too short a time period. In effect, this will <br />amount to the waiving of the previous standards and the adoption of the new proposed <br />standards. <br />At the appropriate time post TR -72 approval (by August 2012), a re- evaluation will be <br />conducted to resolve any issues involving ,pre and post mining land uses, AVF status, <br />reclamation plan, and AVF restoration of essential hydrologic functions for the Gossard <br />Loadout area. <br />2.05 -26 Revision Date: 9/28/09 <br />Revision No.: TR -82 <br />