2013-07-11_REPORT - M1988044 (2)

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previously had now blended in with the surrounding land and the pit location was indistinguishable even though apparent in the original photograph. The Division released the exploration bond and ruled the backhoe pits had been adequately reclaimed. In some instances it was reasoned that if one cannot even find the location of the pit then it must be reclaimed. With respect to the reclamation of land at this site, the experience with the backhoe pits is important. It shows that in a period of 5 to 10 years a disturbance becomes invisible due to the re- establishment of the original vegetation. Thus, quick replacement of the original soil and careful grading can restore the original vegetation within a decade. In reclamation terms, that is quite rapid. However, extrapolation of these results to mining disturbances must be done with care. The exploration pits are small and the mining areas are large. The original soil was quickly replaced on exploration pits while stockpiling of soil for one to five years is often the rule with mining pits. Nevertheless, existing reclaimed mining areas are returning to a vegetation composition and structure that is similar to the undisturbed grasslands, after taking into account topographic and habitat characteristics. No "new style" reclamation has had as long to develop as was allowed for the exploration pits and therefore no conclusions can be drawn as to how long it would take 20 acres to achieve the same quality of revegetation seen on a 150 square foot exploration site. However, the patterns of development of the reclamation in mining areas and exploration pits appears to be similar and it is therefore hopeful that the mining areas will achieve a similar quality of vegetation to what originally existed there, provided the post mining environment is the same as that which was there prior to mining. If topography is significantly altered then what will result may not be like what was there before, but it will likely be some other natural vegetation community that can be found on similar sites elsewhere on the property. Following are a few selected photographic pages from the reclamation report submitted as a part of the exploration notice of intent release request. The full set can be found in the actual report, a copy of which should be found in the Land Board's files. WEED STATUS: General overview of weed status on site: Weeds remain a problem throughout this site and that is not expected to change anytime soon. Many of the weed populations are deeply entrenched on this land and have become that way simply because of the long life they have had here and the continued presence of suitable habitat to allow their persistence. However, due to control efforts and increased vegetation density, the weed problem, in general, is not nearly as severe as it was when overgrazing was the rule. A. Status of species that have been present in the past: Spurge density has continued to decrease in the past few years due to robust expansion of grasses and the competition they provide. However, they are still a serious problem in many areas and have been very difficult to control where they are living in a favorable habitat. Interestingly, spurge is not a common problem on mining or reclamation areas. Individuals can be found, but they seem to rarely increase in cover. There is a bit of an illusion this year that spurge has once again increased markedly. This is caused by the Status report for 2013 due July 15, 2013 Page 11 of 16