2016-02-24_REPORT - C1981018 (3)

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2015 Revegetation Survey Underneath Introduction Visual surveys of the referenced sites were made. Each site was walked or ridden with an ATV to assess the site. Observations were then recorded on an inspection form for future reference (see Appendix). The intent of the inspections was to: 1. Assess the effectiveness of past revegetation practices. 2. Identify potential problems that exist that may warrant further attention. 3. Provide insight to future revegetation efforts. 4. Provide information to help develop strategies to correct potential deficiencies. During 2015 we saw very mild winter with very much greater than normal precipitation during May (3.63" vs. 1.00"). The remainder of the growing season saw slightly below normal moisture with a wetter than normal fall starting in October. Overall, 2015 had above average precipitation with 13.97 inches compared to the average annual precipitation of 10.02 inches. No storm events of unusually high intensity were noted. Cheatgrass returned with vengeance in 2015 due to the wet fall of 2014 providing strong competition for desirable perennial species. 2016 will most likely have less problems than due to cheatgrass than 2015 due to a later start or wetter conditions and the extensive grazing by rabbits. An infestation of rabbits dominated the summer of 2015. They were thick enough to greatly impact the vegetation. Most of the grasses and forbs on the reclaimed sites were grazed clean. Grazing of the root crowns were frequently observed. We will have to wait until 2016 to determine what, if any, long term detrimental impacts they had on the vegetation. During the late fall and into the winter the population appeared to crash. I don't expect a similar problem into 2016.