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4.2.4 Watershed Management <br />I�The reclamation objectives for the proposed permit area include reestablishing <br />the hydrologic conditions present before mining. Basically, three important per- <br />iods of Lime for watershed management can be anticipated. The first period will <br />occur while areas are newly disturbed and have little if any vegetative cover to <br />protect them from .rater erosion and to prevent suspended solids from being <br />entrained in runoff. The objectives during this period of time will be to pre- <br />vent soil losses and contamination of receiving waters by retaining moisture on <br />site, maximizing infiltration and treating runoff before it leaves the proposed <br />permit area (refer to Sections 2.5, 3.6, 3.6.3.6, and 4.8.1). <br />During the second period, plants will be establishing themselves on the retop- <br />soiled mined lands. As plant cover and roots develop, an increasing amount of <br />protection against soil loss and attendent sediment generation is expected. <br />Young succulant plants will be attractive to wildlife and livestock and subject <br />to excessive defoliation if utilization is not controlled. The objectives during <br />this period will be similar to the first but with emphasis on protecting young <br />stands of vegetation. Livestock will not be allowed to use such areas and wild - <br />CA <br />life use will be diluted by attracting animals to adjacent areas, by avoiding <br />transplanting young shrubs on less than 200 contiguous acres at a time, and by <br />using seed mixes that include species of low to medium palatability. <br />During the third and final period, plants will have established on the affected <br />areas and will be ready to provide forage to both livestock and wildlife. Gener- <br />ally, good range management is good watershed management and if grazing is con- <br />trolled properly, problems of erosion and runoff will be minimized (Stoddert et. <br />al., 1975). During this time, the primary objective will be to protect existing <br />vegetation through proper livestock use (see Section 3.6.3.8). <br />For areas returned to cropland, farming practices will be controlled by agreement <br />with local farmers as described in Section 3.6.2.7. If proven beneficial, crop- <br />land areas will be returned directly to alfalfa and appropriate pasture grasses <br />instead of winter wheat. As a perennial crop, alfalfa and pasture grasses would <br />provide improved erosion control on croplands and would eliminate the alternate <br />year fallowing as currently practiced. <br />4-7 2 1982 <br />7 -s -s2 SAY <br />