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needed to reclaim the slopes of the lake and the small area above the lake,the stripped soil will be <br /> used to increase the thickness of the replaced topsoil. <br /> 7.Vegetation <br /> No native vegetation communities are currently present within the proposed permit area. As de- <br /> scribed in the section on land use,the site was dozed up to facilitate irrigation decades ago. The <br /> field has been irrigated for hay production since that time. Production has been approximately 2.5- <br /> 3.0 tons per acre per year. Some thistle and other weeds are present in field but make up less than <br /> 5%of the total vegetation. The depression shown on Map B-1 has allowed more water to <br /> accumulate,thus creating a man-made wetland in the bottom, consisting of cattails, and willows. <br /> The central portion of the mining area also contains some willows and some immature cottonwoods <br /> because of past irrigation. Ground cover is variable depending upon past activity,and most plants <br /> have naturally invaded since irrigation was stopped. A significant portion of the site is almost <br /> barren, because of past dozing. Between the central area that contains the cottonwoods and the south <br /> cottonwood grove, perennial grasses and weeds dominate the pasture. Average ground cover is <br /> approximately 30%, and approximately 1/5 of this amount consists of weedy species. Variability <br /> within the site is high. The local SCS specialist provided an inventory of plants found on the site <br /> south of the river in 1982. Although this letter corresponded to the Farnsworth#2 Pit area, it is <br /> adjacent to this permit area. This letter from Mark Loye is enclosed in Appendix D. The pictures <br /> enclosed in this section show the site as it exists in December of 2003. <br /> A large mature cottonwood grove south of the mining area will be avoided. Immediately south of <br /> the cottonwood grove(approximately 50')is a return irrigation ditch which has wetland plants at the <br /> bottom, and which is wet slightly above ground level throughout most of the year. This wetland is <br /> approximately 6.0 feet vertically lower than the permit area and 3-4 feet higher than the river. This <br /> ditch is the Farnsworth Collection Ditch,which flows water year-round. As explained in the mining <br /> plan, steps have been incorporated into the plan to protect the wetland by staying away from the <br /> wetlands. No wetlands will be disturbed by the mining of the permit area. <br /> 7 <br /> North Fork Pit March 04 <br />