_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981017 (218)

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in«snounzainoi�, MEMO TO: Doug Bowman, Wayne Cook, Jim Herron FROM: Tom Colbert DATE: 5-11-84 RE: Meeting with MLR re Mid-Continent's proposed waste disposal area — vegetation baseline survey. On Friday, May U, 1984, Tom Colbert and Wayne Cook of IMS met with Brian Munson and Jim Herron of MLR at MLR's office. The purpose of the meeting was to go over specific requirements and proposed methods for conducting a vegetation baseline inventory for the area proposed by Mid-Continent to be developed as a disposal site for coal processing waste. The following summarizes the points of discussion: 1) Doing the inventory in late July or early August will be about the best time. It is imperative that grazing livestock be excluded from the area at least until after all sampling work is finished. There may be some concern by Mid- Continent regarding their development schedule: MLR is not going to allow disturbance of the area (except for conveyor assembly) until baseline studies have been completed and approved. 2) Baseline information on aspen type is already adequate. IMS will conduct an "ocular reconnaissance" survey of aspen areas within the inventory study area, but quantitative sampling will not be required. 3) Two or three communities in addition to aspec may occur on the site. IMS will use its best judgment in identifying and delineating plant communities. Mapping resolution will be less than 2.5 acres. Inclusions or stringers will be dealt with as deemed appropriate. If there are any questions, don't hesitate to call Jim Herron. 4) Cluster (stratified) sampling is OK (see Cook and Bonham publication on techniques for vegetation measurement, C.S.U. Range Science Dept. Science Series No. 28 for a detailed discussion). A two-tail "t" test will be used for statistical calculations. Shrub types will be sampled to detect +10% of the mean at 80% confidence; herbaceous types to +10% of the mean at 90% confidence. Shrub types are defined as the communities having at least 15% relative vegetation cover comprised by the shrub stratum. MLR will allow cutoff at 50 samples, if they approve of the mapping. 5) Vegetation cover wil be measured by the line-intercept method. Data will be collected by species for herbaceous and shrub strata.