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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 />This was a partial inspection of the Hamilton Mlne, conducted by Dan Mathews of the DMG Grand <br />Junction Field Office, 101 South 3rtl, Suite 301, Grand Junction, CO 81501. Weather was clear and <br />warm. The focus of the inspection was on assessment of vegetation establishment. <br />Revegetation <br />There is a relatively diverse stand of seeded vegetation in the reclaimed area, with a modest cover of <br />both warm and cool season perennial grasses, shrubs, and sub-shrubs. The perennial forb, scarlet <br />globemallow, is relatively abundant over most of the area. Sand dropseed and blue grams appear to be <br />the dominant warm season grasses; Indian ricegrass, needle-and-thread, western wheatgrass, and <br />bottlebrush squirrel-tail the primary cool season grasses. Four-wing saltbush accounts for most or all of <br />the full shrub component, with broom snakeweed and winterfat the dominant sub-shrubs. Although. the <br />stand is relatively diverse, perennial cover and productivity appear to be somewhat lower than adjacent <br />native areas, with numerous patches where perennials are quite sparse. In some locations, dead grass <br />clump bases were apparent, possibly from die-off associated with the series of drought years. Cover <br />appears adequate to control erosion, as there was no evidence of rills or gullies. <br />Annual weeds are still a significant component of the stand, possibly more prominent this year due to the <br />pattern of precipitation. Cheatgrass brome is abundant in most areas, with significant presence of tumble <br />mustard and Russian thistle. <br />There were widely scattered small patches and individual plants of the noxious perennial weed, Russian <br />knapweed. <br />Shrub density (four-wing saltbush) appears to be significantly higher in south and west portions of the <br />reclamation than in the northeast quadrant. Numerous seedlings of four-wing and winterfat appear to <br />have germinated and initiated growth this year. <br />Hydrologic Balance <br />Sediment Ponds A and 8 were both dry. Small patches of tamarix (salt cedar) were present at both pond <br />sites. <br />