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forbs, using a 1/4 square meter circular frame. As directed by Rule 4.15.10, shrubs and trees will <br />not be clipped, however, as required by Rule 1.04 (55) and page 8 of the Vegetation Guideline, <br />half - shrubs will be clipped as a separate life form. We recognize that this approach is contrary to <br />the recommendations found in the Bond Release Guideline, wherein the CDRMS recommends <br />that "annual or biennial cover or production in excess of this threshold (10 percent composition) <br />should be deleted from the reclaimed area data prior to success comparison," however, the <br />Permit is very clear in stating that the approved revegetation success standard for production <br />involves a comparison of "total vegetative production" which requires that all herbaceous plants <br />must be clipped. <br />As required by Rule 4.15.10(1)(b)(I) and as recommended in page 8 of the Vegetation <br />Guideline, all clipped samples will be placed into individual labeled paper bags for each clip plot <br />and returned to the laboratory where they will be air -dried at 105 degrees C until they have a <br />constant weight. Along each production transect, three randomly located clip plots will be <br />located along each sample transect and the production values from these three values will be <br />averaged into a transect value or datum. <br />Sample Adequacy. The Southfield Mine Permit does not address the issue of sample adequacy. <br />The regulations at Rule 4.15.10(2) require that sample adequacy must be demonstrated on all <br />areas sampled and at that a minimum of at least 15 cover and 30 production and woody plant <br />density transects must be sampled from each reclaimed area and reference area. The Vegetation <br />Guideline recommends on page 15 that a minimum of 15 transects should be sampled from each <br />baseline plant community or reclaimed site and that a minimum of at least 10 transects should be <br />sampled from each reference area. before sample adequacy is calculated. If sample adequacy is <br />achieved with this sample size, then sampling will stop. If sample adequacy is not achieved with <br />either 15 cover or 30 production or woody plant density samples, then additional samples will be <br />collected until a total of at least 50 samples have been collected. As allowed by the Vegetation <br />Guideline and as the CDRMS has previously approved in previous vegetation sampling efforts <br />performed on the Southfield Mine and on various other sites, sampling will stop once 50 <br />transects have been sampled. <br />Report Format. The monitoring results from each of the two vegetation monitoring periods <br />will be put into a report format found on pages 10 and 11 of the Bond Release Guideline. <br />Field Data Sheets. As we have been directed by the CDRMS in numerous other vegetation <br />sampling efforts, the final report will not contain copies of the field data sheets collected in this <br />sampling effort, but will be available for inspection if necessary. <br />