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• The Applicant requested, pursuant to Rule 4.15.7(2)(d)(vi), that the Division set the <br />revegetation success standards for the Bear No. 3 Mine for the parameters of <br />herbaceous cover and production, species diversity and woody plant density based on <br />local environmental conditions and available data for similar sites. The standards are <br />listed below: <br />1. Herbaceous Production: 1600 Ibs /acre <br />2. Herbaceous Cover: 40 percent <br />3. Species Diversity: The species diversity standard is based on species composition <br />(% relative cover). The reclaimed vegetation surface shall include at least three <br />herbaceous species with relative cover equal to or greater than 3 percent, two of <br />which are cool season grasses, and one forb. The combined relative cover of <br />these species should not exceed 80 percent, and no one species should comprise <br />greater than 60 percent. <br />4. Woody Plant Density: The Applicant will not be required to reestablish a specific <br />shrub density on the remainder of the reclaimed area at the Bear No. 3 Mine. The <br />fact that the total surface disturbance at the Bear No. 3 Mine is about 8.4 acres in <br />size minimizes the importance of reestablishing shrubs for wildlife use. The Bear <br />• No. 3 Mine disturbance area is contained within an area previously disturbed by <br />mining and, as a result, the success criteria of 4.15.10 apply. The Applicant is not <br />obligated to meet a standard for woody plant density. <br />The most critical objective of reclamation at the site is to stabilize the surface, which can <br />best be achieved through the establishment of a predominately herbaceous community, <br />including both quick growing and long -lived perennial species. Certain shrub species will <br />be included in the broadcast seed mixture, along with adapted grasses and forbs. <br />The data upon which the standards were based was collected by Mountain Coal <br />Company in the dry meadow vegetation type located approximately one -half mile south of <br />the Bear No. I Mine and No. 2 Mine portals. The type occurs primarily on the top of the <br />relatively level terraces to the south of the river. The meadow type was created by <br />clearing of the wet mixed shrub type for grazing. The dry meadow data represented the <br />most applicable available data for the disturbed areas at the Bear mine, considering <br />environmental conditions and the reveg_ etation plan. SCS production estimates for the <br />swale range site, which corresponds to the Breece loam soil type along the North Fork, <br />range from 1,500 pounds to 2,000 pounds per acre. Potential vegetation is primarily cool <br />season perennial grasses. <br />MR -32 2.05 -42ii 02/10 <br />/�FP�avEl� <br />