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STATE OF COLORADO RICHARD D. LAMM, GOVCIn01 <br /> DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES <br /> D.Monte Pascoe,Executive Director <br /> MINED LAND RECLAMATION <br /> 423 Centennial Building,1313 Sherman Street <br /> Denver, Colorado 80203 Tel. (303) 866-3567 <br /> David C. Shelton <br /> Director <br /> November 8, 1982 <br /> Mr. Doug Bowman <br /> Mid-Continent Resources, Inc. <br /> P.O. Box 158 <br /> Carbondale, Colorado 81623 <br /> Re: Revegetation Success Standards - Coal Basin Mines <br /> Our File No. C-017-81 <br /> Dear Mr. Bowman: <br /> As we discussed in our telephone conversation of November 1, 1982, there <br /> is no need to send the baseline vegetation data to a consultant to determine <br /> the species diversity success standard. The vegetation data collected by <br /> Western Resource Development is presented in a way which easily facilitates <br /> determination of the standard. As an example, the total herbaceous cover <br /> on the aspen woodland affected area was determined to be 56.3%. Since the <br /> species diversity standard is based on the number of species having a <br /> relative cover of 3% or more, any species determined to have a pover of <br /> .03 x 56.3% = 1.69% would be counted. The data shows that two cool season <br /> grass species and six forb species had cover percentages greater than 1.69%. <br /> Therefore, the reclaimed surface area that is compared to the aspen woodland <br /> baseline data would be required to have two cool season grass species and <br /> six forb species which each have a relative cover greater than 3%. <br /> Using the same method as described above, the species diversity standard for <br /> the spruce-fir parkland vegetation type would be 5 cool season grass species <br /> and 8 forb species and the species diversity standard for the aspen shrubland <br /> vegetation type would be 2 cool season grass species and 7 forb species. <br /> It is evident that forb species are generally the major herbaceous component <br /> in the vegetation adjacent to the disturbed areas. The present seed mix <br /> does not appear to be adequate to establish the necessary forb species to <br /> meet revegetation success standards. However, forb species which are adapted <br /> to the harsh climate at the Coal Basin mines are presently not readily <br /> available. In the future, I expect more species to become commercially <br /> available, thus the seed mix must be periodically updated. <br /> 16 <br />