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Revegetation Assessment-Revised <br /> - - TGuanelia Reservoir - <br /> Clear Creek County,Colorado <br /> Site Description <br /> Phase II, including the project area, occurs on an upper terrace of the Clear Creek valley west of the <br /> town of Empire at an elevation of approximately 8,500 feet. Historically, Phase II was mined for gravel. <br /> After the reservoir was constructed,gravel from the reservoir site was stored at Phase II. Additionally, <br /> the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)stockpiled salt approximately where the project <br /> area is located, based on a 1985 DRMS inspection report(Baumberg 2018) and aerial photographs. In <br /> 2013, Phase II was graded,approximately 6 inches of topsoil were added, and the seed mix in Table 1 <br /> was added per the reclamation plan. The reclaimed area of Phase II consists of a mostly level terrace at <br /> approximately the same elevation as the adjacent terrace to the south that was not disturbed by mining <br /> (U.S.Geological Survey 1958). <br /> Table 1. High altitude, low growth seed mix. <br /> Ephraim crested wheatgrass 30 <br /> Dwarf perennial ryegrass 25 <br /> SR3200 blue fescue 20 <br /> Reubens Canada bluegrass 15 <br /> Chewings fescue 10 <br /> Source DMG 112 Permit#M-77-534-TR1. <br /> On the western edge of Phase II, including the project area,the terrace shallowly slopes down to the <br /> parking lot below the reservoir dam (outside of the Phase II reclaimed area). The unvegetated salt- <br /> crusted area occurs at the bottom of the slope and extends about one-third up the slope. Patches of <br /> vegetation occur around the unvegetated area. <br /> On March 2, 2018, Denise Larson with ERO visited the project area to assess existing conditions and take <br /> soil samples(March 2018 site visit). Most of the project area was unvegetated with a salt crust on the <br /> surface. Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) and kochia (Bassia scoparia)were observed around <br /> the salt-crusted areas and in the Phase II areas to the east. In the September 2017 inspection report <br /> (DRMS 2017), perennial ryegrass and Canada bluegrass were also observed. In nearby areas of native <br /> vegetation, western wheatgrass(Pascopyrum smithii) and a brome (Bromus sp.)were common. A soil <br /> sample was taken in the project area (S2). To compare the soils in the unvegetated project area to <br /> vegetated portions of the reclaimed Phase II, another soil sample (S1) was taken. Both samples followed <br /> Colorado State University Soil,Water,and Plant Testing Laboratories (CSU Soil Testing Lab) Instructions <br /> (CSU 2018)except that only the top 3 or 4 inches were sampled because the soils below those depths <br /> ERO Project#7158 2 <br /> ERO Resources Corporation <br />