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III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. This was a partial inspection of the Blue Ribbon Mine. Skies were clear, it was warm and the site was dry, The southern portion of the mine site is well vegetated with perennial grasses - predominantly western wheatgrass. A number of shrubs are scattered around the southern portion including boxelder, rose and one serviceberry. A few scattered thistles were observed. On the upper ditch between the north and south areas there is a rusty storage drum that should be removed from the site. The bench area on the northern portion of the permit boundary has a dense infestation of robust Cheatgrass. Very few native perennial grasses were observed. The cheatgrass infestation was somewhat unexpected, since cheatgrass has not been noted as a problem in previous inspections. Its presence could be attributed to weed control measures that might have harmed the perennial vegetation. Looking back at the October 2001 inspection where noxious weeds were the inspection focus, it says that perennial vegetation cover was low. It's also possible that the recent climatic conditions with the relatively moist fall and spring combined with the low perennial vegetation cover may have created very favorable conditions for the cheatgrass to establish. Once established, it is very difficult to control. The dominant presence of cheatgrass is problematic if bond release is being considered. It is an annual plant species and the allowable relative cover for annuals/biennials is up to 10% if it was present in vegetation data used to set the standard. A number of shrubs, primarily rose, were observed on the upper bench area. Other woody plant species observed were Rubber rabbitbrush and box elder near the creek. A trickle of water was running from the far north seep area. A saline deposit was evident where the water was flowing, See photo below with surrounding cheatgrass.