2012-06-20_PERMIT FILE - C2010089 (41)

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