2016-06-08_PERMIT FILE - C1982056A (4)

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Cropland Seed Mixture •The proposed cropland seed mixture presented in Table 54, Cropland Seed Mixture, was formulated using the criteria in Rule 4.15.1 which allows the use of species that support the postmining land use. Seeding the perennial cropland mixture described herein will reestablish the applicable cropland sites designated on map 3B, Postmining Land Use. The introduced species proposed for the cropland mixture are documented as being of superior utility for production and are widely recommended as dryland hay by numerous researchers including Steward (1973), Seainonds and Roehrkasse (1974) and Marquiss et al. (1974). Rangeland Seed Mixture The rangeland postmining land use areas disturbed by surface activities will be revegetated with the seed mixture presented in Table 55, Rangeland Seed Mixture. This mixture is designed to stabilize the site and establish a diverse plant community necessary to restore the postmining land use of grazing and wildlife habitat. Introduced species are documented as being of superior utility for forage production for both domestic livestock and wildlife. Research documenting the superiority of the introduced species proposed for inclusion in the seed mixtures, under conditions similar to the proposed permit area in northwest Colorado, are summarized as follows: McGinnies, (1960) working on rangeland two miles south of Hayden, Colorado, reported that 15 species were planted in a test plot in 1945 and evaluated until 1958. The most outstanding species on this plot was pubescent wheatgrass followed by intermediate wheatgrass. These species produced the greatest amount of soil protection and forage. Desert wheatgrass was the next best species. Beardless wheatgrass was inferior in initial establishment but appeared to improve with each successive season. Species performing fair to poor included green needlegrass, big bluegrass, and western wheatgrass. Species considered failures were tall wheatgrass, still leaf wheatgrass, blue wildrye, and short -awned barley. isWorking on disturbed soils at Axial Basin, (Draves and Berg, 1978) evaluated the quantity of cover produced by 24 grass and 16 forb species. Results from the grass species trials revealed that intermediate wheatgrass ranked second, pubescent wheatgrass ranked fourth, smooth brome ranked fifth, and desert wheatgrass ranked fourteenth. Of the forbs, alfalfa produced the highest plant cover. Cicer milkvetch also produced an abundance of cover. These two forbs are included in the proposed seed mixture because native legumes cannot be expected to provide adequate erosion control and forage production. After four growing season, Sims (1977) reported the results of 25 grass and 19 forb species seeded on test plots in the Piceance Basin. The most productive grass was pubescent wheatgrass, meadow brome ranked third, intermediate wheatgrass ranked fourth, desert wheatgrass ranked seventh, smooth brome was ranked ninth and timothy ranked 20. Among the legumes, alfalfa ranked second, while cicer milkvetch ranked fifth. Merkel et al., (1974) reported that of ten species planted at Meeker, the best performing species were intermediate and pubescent wheatgrasses. Upon evaluating the establishment of various plants seeded on unleveled spoils at the Seneca Mine, Berg (1975) found that of the species planted, orchardgrass produced the highest frequency, based upon the amount of seed planted. Following orchardgrass, in descending order, were desert wheatgrass, smooth brome, and alfalfa. Additional field trials by the SCS and CYCC on Energy Mine No. 1 found the species most suitable for erosion control on reclaimed lands were meadow brome, smooth brome and intermediate wheatgrass. Cicer milkvetch also performed satisfactorily. As concluded in the above cited reports, introduced species are capable of rapidly stabilizing disturbed areas. The is ability of exotic species to effectively control erosion is attributable to the early, rapid growth they exhibit and RN08-05 2.05-111 03/12/10