2013-04-10_PERMIT FILE - C1981019A (4)

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RULE 2 PERMITS 2.04.10 Vegetation Information The objectives of this section are to meet the requirements of the Colorado Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Rule 2.04. 10 et seq. by describing the general vegetation community types and their distributions within the permit boundary Collom permit expansion area (Map 4C). Vegetation data is provided as cover, species composition, woody plant density, and production to facilitate development of a revegetation plan and associated performance standards for the Collom mining area. General Vegetation Information General vegetation mapping information was developed based on the following information: • Colowyo Coal Company Permit C -81 -019 - Application for Permit Renewal /Permit Revision - Mining — Section 2.04. 10 (Colowyo Coal Co., 199 1) • Digital 1.5 meter - resolution true color remote sensing imagery exposed in the summer of 2002; and • Digital 0.5 -meter resolution color- infrared remote sensing imagery exposed in September of 2005. • Rio Tinto Energy America — Colowyo Coal Company Proposed Collom Mine Project Baseline Vegetation Survey (Cedar Creek Associates, Inc. 2006). The vegetation community types described in this section and delineated on Map 4C were originally reported in the baseline vegetation survey performed in 2006 by Cedar Creek Associates, Inc. This report is included as Exhibit 10, Item 6. Detailed Vegetation Information — The area of study for the baseline vegetation survey totaled 13,605 acres. This area, termed the Vegetation Study Area, includes the potential disturbance footprint of the Collom permit expansion area. Site specific information collected during the baseline vegetation survey included: • General identification of existing vegetation communities and land use types; • Field sampling of ground cover, production, and woody plant density; • Determination of species composition. Introduction — This section describes the general vegetation community types (floral assemblages) and their distribution within the Collom permit expansion area. Vegetation data are provided in sufficient detail for use in the formulation of a revegetation plan and development of the associated performance standards responsive to Rule 4.15.7 for the Collom permit expansion area. Three referenced delineation areas are considered in the Collom permit expansion area: the Vegetation Study Area, which encompasses 13,605 acres; a Wildlife Buffer Area, which encompasses 54,000 acres; and a Disturbance Perimeter, comprised of 3,000 acres. The total acreages of each vegetation type identified in the Vegetation Study Area and the percent of the total area represented by each type are presented in Table 2.04.10 -33. The vegetation communities delineated are shown on Map 4C (Sheets 1 — 11). This series of maps depict vegetation communities across the Collom permit expansion area at a 1:500 scale. Reference areas and transect locations are also showy on the series of maps. The vegetation inventory effort determined the following parameters in each identified vegetation type: 1) percent cover of vegetation, rock, litter, and bare ground; 2) annual production of herbaceous species; 3) Collom — Rule 2, Page 57 Revision Date: 9/28/11 Revision No.: PR -03