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• INTRODUCTION <br />• <br />During the initial vegetation sampling for the Intensively Managed Irrigated Pasture located on <br />the Garvey Property at the proposed New Horizon - North Mine project, baseline vegetation <br />sampling was conducted during the summer of 2009 which is more fully described in Permit <br />Section Appendix 2.04.10. Subsequent to the field sampling of this site in June of 2009, WFC <br />and IME were unable to locate a suitable reference area for this vegetation type and as are <br />documented in the response to Permit Section 2.04.10, consultation with Ms. Sandy Brown and <br />Mr. Dan Mathews of the CDRMS, resulted in our being informed that a "historic record" <br />approach as allowed in CDRMS Rule 4.15.7(2)(c)(v) and on pages 11 and 12 of the Vegetation <br />Guideline could be used to establish the revegetation success criteria for this vegetation type <br />provided that at least three years of baseline monitoring data were collected prior to this <br />vegetation type being disturbed. This revegetation monitoring effort was preformed with the - <br />intention of satisfying the third year's baseline monitoring effort for the permit baseline <br />vegetation sampling requirements of the DRMS regulations. <br />Mr. Kent Crofts of IME, who has conducted numerous previous vegetation sampling efforts at <br />numerous other mine sites in Colorado and Utah in the past 38 years, directly supervised and <br />participated in all field investigations. Assisting in this sampling effort was Mr. Benito Garcia <br />Felix who acted as a field assistant in the collection of the field data and Mrs. Loraine Crofts <br />who acted as a laboratory assistant and weighted the plant samples and assisted with the data <br />analysis. <br />METHODS <br />PLANT COMMUNITY MAPPING <br />Vegetation Manning. The boundaries of the vegetation types in the proposed New Horizon - <br />North Mine permit area were delineated as required in Section 2.04.10(1) which requires that <br />plant communities be delineated based upon the basis of visually dominant plant species. Seven <br />major plant community types were delineated within the proposed New Horizon - North Mine <br />permit area and this report specifically addresses the Intensively Managed Irrigated Pasture <br />vegetation type. This map was prepared by walking all of the vegetation boundaries within the <br />proposed permit area with our GPS unit. <br />Maps, in both electronic and paper format of all of the proposed mine and reference areas to be <br />sampled in this vegetation monitoring effort were supplied by Mr. David Anderson and Mr. Ross <br />Gubka of WFC. This vegetation mapping was prepared primarily using the high resolution <br />aerial photographs taken by WFC in October 2008 and using our experience in working on the <br />proposed mine permit area for a period of nearly 13 months <br />VEGETATION SAMPLING <br />The specific sampling methodologies used in this evaluation are those found in the Division's <br />"Guidelines with Land Use and Vegetation Requirements of the Colorado Mined Land <br />Reclamation Board for Coal Mining" issued in June of 1988, the undated "Guideline for the <br />Management of Noxious Weeds on Coal Mine Permit Areas, and the "Guidelines Regarding <br />Selected Coal Mine Bond Release Issues" issued April 18, 1995. In addition, the existing <br />regulation formally adopted September 14, 2005 by the Colorado Division of Minerals and <br />Geology (DMG) now the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (CDRMS) as <br />Section 4.15.11 and corresponding documents were used with respect to sample adequacy <br />