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I I I I I I I I 0U2J86 cover and soil stabilization currently provided by such species. The same can be said for the south campground site located at the Williams Fork River inlet to the Williams Fork Reservoir, which, although it supports no noxious weeds, is populated by a diverse community of common weeds, Williams Fork Project shorelines are open to dispersed recreation and are subject to heavy use. Evidence of dispersed recreation use is especially noticeable south of the west campgroundlboat launch area, The weed problem at the Williams Fork Project will likely increase if use of these current dispersed recreation sites increases in the future or if dispersed recreation comes to involve more of the project shoreline. A recreation management plan component that would discourage overuse of current dispersed recreation sites and would moderate or limit further encroachment on undisturbed sites will protect and enhance Williams Fork Project habitats by preventing impacts to native soils and vegetation. Likewise, a plan to prevent overuse of the existing recreation facilities will assist in preventing possible expansion of existing noxious and common weed populations there and in preventing invasion of these sites by additional noxious and common weed species. 4.2 Meadows I I I I I I I I I I I As discussed above, the largest colonies of Canada thistle encountered at the Williams Fork Project do not seem to be the result of site disturbance but rather that the species has invaded healthy native range, pasture, or meadow communities in response to a favorable moisture regime, These sites are not heavily used by recreationists or even probably observed very often by the public, and so the presence of Canada thistle does not pose a resource risk in that sense or, consequently, warrant its control at these sites. The potential for spread of Canada thistle by seed from these sites to other similar sites or to sites that are currently disturbed or that may be disturbed in the future is an attendant resource risk. However, given the enonnously wide distribution of this cosmopolitan weed and the doubtless huge seed reservoir in local and regional soils, the additional contribution of seed from these few sites is probably not significant. If this type of infestation is, in fact, simply an opportunistic colonization of sites with moisture regimes favorable to Canada thistle, attempts to exclude it from such sites may be futile through time, 4.3 Spoil Piles During the Scoping Meetings, the potential for noxious weed growth on existing spoil piles at the Williams Fork Project and the need for control measures were mentioned as potential issues, The spoil piles in question were surveyed during the noxious weed survey, and no noxious weeds were encountered, However, a wide variety of common weeds, including pennycress, lambsquarters (Chenopodium album), tumblemustard, Russian thistle (Salsola sp,), mullein, kochia (Kochia scoparium), pigweed (Amaranlhus sp.), creeping knotweed (Polygonum aviculare), foxtail, and others, has colonized these Williams Fork Reservoir Hydroelectric Project January 2004 Steiger:; CorpomllOn No:<ious Weed Survey Report Page 10