2014-10-21_REVISION - M1988044 (5)

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TR-07 RECLAMATION PLAN first flowering, will be even more abundant than the first flowering. If you don't come back and kill the plants before they flower again, plucking off the flowers may actually make the problem of seed spread worse. If the plants have already set seed,but most of the seed is still on the plant, very carefully removing the seed head can reduce the amount of seed spread and perhaps there won't be time before winter dormancy for the plant to successfully flower and set a new batch of seed. (Don't bet on it though - these are very talented plants.) b. Followup: Weed control without followup is pointless. There are two types of followup needed. i. Treatment effectiveness followup - Treated areas should be examined about 10 days after treatment to determine the condition of the plants, how well the herbicide worked, and to re-spray those plants that seem unaffected. If unaffected plants are found in the first followup and some re-spraying is required, a second followup will be done about a week after the re-spraying. If those same plants are still unaffected, treatment of those specific plants with a more powerful vegetation killer may be required. Herbicide resistance is becoming an increasing problem with some noxious weeds, and like antibiotic resistance with bacteria, more and more potent chemicals must be used to kill them. As a last resort localized sterilization may be needed. Unfortunately, sometimes that doesn't even work and the weeds still return. ii. Second year followup - Sometimes an herbicide treatment will kill the above ground parts of the plant and even some of the underground parts,but enough living material survives to initiate growth in the next year and the weeds are right back as if you had done nothing. There are a few species of noxious weeds that apparently will "cut-off'part of their root system in response to chemical treatment and each"cut-off'part will generate a completely new plant. You treat one plant and it responds by producing 200 clones. Re-treatment must then be applied and continue to be applied until you defeat its survival strategies. (As said before, these are very talented plants. Never underestimate their ability to survive.) C. Biological Controls: As a rule, biological control on most affected land in mined land reclamation would not be effective because the weed populations are rarely dense enough for"bugs"to kill the plants and sustain their own population. But if biological control is implemented on adjacent lands where the weed density is high enough then the operator will fully cooperate with those control efforts. Furthermore, biological control of dense weed populations that will be mined in the future is an excellent pre-treatment. (NOTE: Biological control does not always Coal Creek Sand Resource Amendment 3 (2005)- M-1988-044 Exhibit E Page 25