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III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE <br />Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made <br />during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection <br />and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. <br />RSRDA Borrow Area <br />Electric fencing has been installed around the perimeter of this revegetated area. The fence had been <br />maintained since the previous inspection, but some further maintenance appears to be warranted. The wire is <br />too close to the ground where the fence crosses over the high berm at the lower end of the road. Also, <br />in a couple locations where the fence crosses over permanent channels, the wire is too high above the <br />ground. An additional wire appears to be warranted in these locations. <br />There has been a serious infestation of whitetop weed at this location in the past, and there is still a remnant <br />population, but the operator's control efforts (spring application of "Curtail" herbicide) have been effective in <br />controlling the weed. <br />North Decline <br />The reclaimed area supports relatively high densities of seeded shrubs, but the herbaceous understory is heavily <br />dominated by cheatgrass. The cheatgrass was sprayed in November 2005 with "Plateau" and "Roundup' <br />herbicides, and this initial treatment appears to have been quite effective. A follow-up herbicide treatment is <br />scheduled for early fall of 2006, with interseeding in November 2006. Soil scarification by spike tooth <br />harrow, or comparable method to provide appropriate soil coverage of seed with minimal disturbance to <br />established vegetation is recommended, in conjunction with the seeding. <br />2-West Portals <br />As yet there is minimal germination of seeded species from the fall 2005 re-seeding of the portal backfill sites. <br />North Portal Area <br />Summer annual weeds have recently germinated over a large portion of the saline "bare area" that was <br />reseeded in November 2005, which is an encouraging sign. Some scattered sprouting of shrubs and grasses <br />that survived the disking was also observed. Germination of seeded species was not apparent, but that is not <br />surprising considering the very dry conditions this spring. The center portion of the retreated area {perhaps 15- <br />20% of the treated area) remains bare with essentially no germination. <br />