2014-10-21_REVISION - M1988044 (5)

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TR-07 RECLAMATION PLAN themselves to adjust to changing conditions and many believe it is impossible to understand such systems to a degree that allows for much Active Management. That is not to say that some Active Management cannot be used. For example, weed management is mostly Active Management. If there are undesirable weed species present one can safely assume they will be a problem and management of the weeds can be pre-planned or at least anticipated. But many other aspects of the natural system management simply cannot be predicted or anticipated to such a well defined extent as weed infestation. Therefore, for natural systems an Adaptive Management approach is most useful. In Adaptive Management, the manager does not play the role of a"know-it-all control freak." The manager responds more gently and mainly to what the system is telling the manager it needs. Adjustments are implemented only when events occur that tend to shift the direction of the developing system in an undesirable direction. The management action taken attempts to gently shift the development pathways back toward a more natural result. In natural system development, "tweaking the system"without good cause often results in undesirable effects that must then be adjusted again. It is far better to generally let the system control itself, closely monitor what is happening, and take action to "tweak"things only when it is known that the development is heading in the wrong direction. For example, most natural systems do not need to be flooded with additional nutrients to make it grow faster. It is better to let the plants grow as fast as they want to grow. That is part of the system development and if the growth rate is artificially adjusted upward the plants will adjust their growth to that artificial condition. If later on the artificial nutrient supply is cut off, the system can become unstable because it has adapted itself to an artificial condition that is no longer there. This often results in a dramatic die off of the vegetation because competition for resources becomes too great to sustain the growth. That thinning of the vegetation creates an opportunity for prodigious amounts of weed growth which further damages the system stability and the possibility exists for the entire system to collapse into a weed patch. And all this happens because the manager wanted to accelerate things through the well- meaning application of fertilizer. It would have been much better to be more patient and let the system develop at its own rate. Eventually systems damaged by heavy-handed management tend to correct themselves, but"eventually" can be a very long time. On the other hand, if during the monitoring it is found that the plants are small, weak, and have a rather strange light green or yellowish-green or purplish color when healthy plants of those species don't look that way, nutrient deficiency is very likely a problem that requires prompt action. In that case, applying suitable fertilizers is a must to correct the nutrient deficiency and keep the system going. The key to effective Adaptive Management is to let the system itself tell you what it needs and if it is telling you that it needs something then and only then do you act to satisfy that need. Otherwise, you leave the system alone and closely watch what is happening. The latter is the other half of Adaptive Management - closely monitoring the developing system. Without close monitoring there is no way to know whether the system needs any help. Coal Creek Sand Resource Amendment 3 (2005)- M-1988-044 Exhibit E Page 19