Laserfiche WebLink
Coors Energy Company: Keenesburg Mine Permit No. C-81-028 <br />2016 Third Quarter Pest & Disease Inspection <br />On August 29, 2016 Wayne Erickson (Habitat Management, Inc). inspected operational, <br />bonded reclaimed and shop areas at the Keenesburg Mine for plant pests, plant diseases <br />and noxious weeds that could or have affected establishment of vegetation on reclaimed <br />lands. The inspection was conducted by vehicular and pedestrian means. The following <br />areas were inspected: <br />• The office/shop/facility area; <br />• Topsoil stockpiles A-1 and B-1; <br />• B pit; <br />• The long-term spoil area; <br />• Bonded Reclamation; <br />• The permanent sediment ponds; <br />• Mine roads; <br />• Undisturbed land within the permit boundary; <br />• and <br />• The Dugout. <br />These areas are depicted on Map 1. <br />Plant disease was not identified within the areas inspected. To date vegetation growth <br />during this growing season is progressing normally and vegetation has not been <br />adversely affected by plant pests. Areas affected by infestation or blight were not <br />identified during this inspection. No areas were observed where noxious weeds, plant <br />pests or plant disease had adversely impacted the normal growth and establishment of <br />vegetation on reclaimed lands, with the exception of scattered cheatgrass infestations in <br />Areas 29, 30 and 31. Cheatgrass is also present in patches on the topsand stockpiles south <br />of the shop. <br />Ongoing vegetation monitoring has identified cheatgrass as a potential barrier to <br />successful revegetation of disturbed areas. The mine performed pre -emergent herbicide <br />treatments on cheatgrass in the fall of 2015 in reclamation units 29 and 30. During this <br />inspection we visually evaluated the effectiveness of these pre -emergent herbicide <br />treatments. To date, effectiveness has been variable with portions of some of these <br />reclaimed areas being absent cheatgrass seedlings and others having stands of seedlings <br />at various densities. Mine personnel continue to closely monitor areas with significant <br />cheatgrass infestations to determine if other treatments (i.e., disking, plowing, etc.) will <br />be required prior to inter -seeding these reclaimed areas later in 2016. The reclaimed <br />units seeded last fall currently show good germination of desirable grasses with <br />cheatgrass being significantly reduced. <br />A few scattered occurrences of bindweed were observed. One small patch is located <br />northeast of Area 22 at the road intersection; the other two patches are located on the <br />Habitat Management, Inc. 1 August 29, 2016 <br />