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Introduction <br />At the request of Mr. George Patterson, General Mine Manager of the Kerr Coal Company <br />(KCC), Marr Mine, Phase III bond release revegetation sampling was conducted during the <br />summer of 2010 on various reclaimed areas and corresponding reference areas located at the <br />Marr Mine located near Walden, Jackson County, Colorado. <br />Revegetation monitoring was conducted on two reclaimed areas consisting of the 1999 <br />Reclamation Block located at the mine site and at the Kerr Tipple. According to the 2010 <br />Annual Reclamation Report Map, the 1999 Reclamation Block consists of two areas located to <br />the east and southeast of the old mine maintenance and office building and contains a total of <br />8.2935 acres. At the Kerr Tipple, there are 3.7035 acres of 1999 reclamation that was sampled. <br />The Alkali Sagebrush Reference Area as shown on Permit Map 18, Kerr Mine Area Vegetation <br />Map, corresponds to the only pre - mining vegetation type associated with 1999 Reclamation <br />Block was also sampled. Since this is the only pre - mining vegetation type associated with this <br />reclaimed area, the Alkali Sagebrush Reference Area was sampled as the revegetation success <br />standard. At the Ken Tipple site, the Kerr Tipple Reference area shown on Permit Map 19, <br />Kerr Tipple Area Vegetation Map was sampled to compare the revegetation success for the <br />tipple reclamation. <br />The locations of these specific reclamation blocks are depicted on the Kerr Coal Company's <br />Annual Reclamation Report Maps and are reproduced on the enclosed vegetation transect <br />location maps. This revegetation monitoring effort was prepared with the intention of satisfying <br />the initial revegetation monitoring requirements associated with the second year of the final two <br />years of the Phase III monitoring requirement. <br />Mr. Kent Crofts of IME, who has conducted numerous previous vegetation sampling efforts at <br />the Marr Mine, and numerous other mine sites in northwest Colorado in the past 33 years, <br />performed all of the field investigations and directly supervised all field investigations. Assisting <br />in this sampling effort was Mr. John Field, who acted as the field technician. Both individuals <br />performed all of the field sampling and data analysis. Assisting in the analysis of the field data <br />was Ms. Loraine Crofts who weighted the plant samples and assisted with summarizing the field <br />data sheets. <br />Methods <br />Maps, in both electronic and hard paper format of all of the reclamation blocks and reference <br />areas sampled in this monitoring effort were supplied by Mr. George Patterson, General Mine <br />Manager of Energy Fuels Coal Inc., who also delineated to the crews in the field, the exact <br />extent of the reclamation efforts at the Marr Mine. The specific sampling methodologies used in <br />this evaluation are those found in the Division's "Guidelines with Land Use and Vegetation <br />Requirements of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining" issued in <br />June of 1988 and the "Guidelines Regarding Selected Coal Mine Bond Release Issues" issued <br />