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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 />operator later this year. Parcels seeded in 2002 will need to be quantitatively monitored in <br />2005. <br />0 CBA-2 Borrow Area -Area was seeded in spring 2002. There is good establishment of <br />fourwing saltbush and cool season grasses in most areas, with significant presence of <br />snakeweed and greasewood. Shadscale is common on slopes, particularly those with <br />northerly exposure. Widely scattered palmer penstemon forbs. No warm season <br />grasses were observed. <br />CRDA-1 -Upper benches were seeded in spring 2002. Good establishment of both <br />fourwing and shadscale saltbush throughout the 2002 seeded parcel. Limited density <br />sampling conducted by DMG in April estimated shadscale density of 3,480 plants per <br />acre, fourwing density of 1,133 per acre, and greasewood density of 81 per acre. <br />There is generally. good grass establishment over most of the pile, cool season species <br />including various wheatgrasses, Russian wildrye, needle & thread, and Indian ricegrass <br />appear to be dominant at this time. The seeded warm season grasses (galleta and alkali <br />sacaton) are present in the stand, most prominent on slopes with southerly exposure. <br />There are no significant bare patches, although there are scattered locations where <br />density, cover, and apparent vigor of plants is lower than surrounding areas, likely due <br />to soil quality factors. The seeded perennial forb palmer penstemon is present in <br />scattered locations. The seeded half shrubs forage kochia and winterfat have a minimal <br />presence. Weedy annual grasses and forbs are not a significant component of the <br />stand. <br />Lower benches of CRDA-1 seeded in 1994 support a relatively diverse, effective cover <br />dominated by fourwing and shadscale saltbush, with cool season and warm season <br />grasses significantly represented, along with various other shrubs and half shrubs. <br />1 CRDA-2 -Upper benches were seeded ih spring 2002, the temporary road corridor <br />seeded in fall 2002, and lower bench areas in 1994. There are a number of apparent <br />differences between the newly established vegetation stands on CRDA-2 and CRDA-1, <br />as well as marked differences between spring 2002 and fall 2002 seeded stands. <br />Possible explanations for observed differences include slope exposure, soil and seedbank <br />factors, and season of seeding. The dominant exposure on CRDA-2 is south and west, <br />compared to larger areas of northeast and east exposures on CRDA-1. Surface soil <br />layer on CRDA-2 was from topsoil stockpiles, whereas the surface layer on CRDA-1 <br />was from borrow area subsoils. In the spring seeded areas, fourwing saltbush is the <br />dominant shrub. Shadscale has a significant presence but a more patchy distribution <br />and over-all lower density. Greasewood is present but scattered, with higher densities <br />on the relatively flat top of the pile and the north facirig inslopes of the upper diversion. <br />Based on limited sampling in April 2004, fourwing density was estimated at 2,975 <br />plants per acre, shadscale 1,153 per acre, and greasewood 931 stems per acre. <br />Density of the half shrubs forage kochia and winterfat is very low. Perennial cool <br />season grass establishment is somewhat patchy, with lower cover than observed on <br />