2011-09-13_INSPECTION - C1981010 (2)

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a south- facing hillside that has not taken the seed well and as a result has poor vegetation with large quantities of cheat grass and prickly lettuce (see Photo 2). Next, we walked the reclaimed drainage in these parcels. We observed weeds along the drainage. At the top of the drainage was a staging/parking area that contained a flat spot and a large pile of boulders that are used to maintain the drainages (see Photo 3). The group discussed omitting this small staging area from the Phase III bond release request. The vegetation in this area was very mature and diverse (see Photo 4). We then drove to parcels F- AB -00, F- AB -01, and F- AB -99. Parcel F -AB -00 is a Vegetation Study Area which was created by CSU, Trapper, and DRMS personnel. This study area was divided into many different sections with variable conditions to see which environment(s) provided the optimal conditions for successful vegetation establishment (see Photo 5). The mine hopes to leave this area "as is" for continued study. There are some poorly vegetated sections in the study area which could be reseeded, but I believe that it would be beneficial for the mine to continue with this vegetation demonstration. The group then inspected parcels D -C -99, D- AB -00, and D -AB -99 in the D Pit. This area had well - established vegetation with good species diversity and many tall grasses (see Photo 6). There was a small stand of white top near the drainage on the south- facing slope (see Photo 7). The group saw equipment disturbing a portion of the Phase III reclaimed lands in Pit D. The operators were disturbing a road to access land outside of the bond release parcel that required repairs (ditch removal and rill repairs) (see Photo 8). Mr. Zuber and Mr. Graham will inquire about this disturbance and determine what to do with this disturbed area. There are six impoundments approved as permanent structures on the reclaimed lands included in SL13 (NNE #2, NNE #3, EPM #1, EPM #2, EPM #3, and Oak #1). These livestock water tanks (LSWT) are typically 2 acre feet in size and provide drinking water to livestock and. wildlife. All LSWTs were surveyed and demonstrate that they meet DRMS design criteria. The post mining land use for the bond release parcels is rangeland and wildlife habitat. There were many sightings of deer, elk, and pronghorn during our inspection. Additionally, Division of Wildlife studies demonstrate that Columbian sharp - tailed grouse are utilizing the reclaimed rangelands. The reclaimed area and its successful vegetative stand support this post mining land use.