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brood rearing. This enhanced habitat would provide long-term benefits to sage grouse. Reestablishing sagebrush along the pipeline corridor is the habitat improvement mitigation preferred by the CDOW because it would provide the most direct benefit to sage grouse. However, in the event that habitat improvement is not feasible on private land, American Soda, the CDOW, and the BLM have agreed that an unrelated sage grouse habitat improvement project could be used as an option for mitigation. To this end, American Soda has agreed to provide up to 150 acres of mechanical brush control/treatment to enhance sage grouse habitat at a site or sites to be determined by the CDOW. As agreed upon by the parties, the cost of these improvements shall not exceed an average of $20 per acre (in 1999 dollars). Weed control would be conducted on an annual basis. The corridor would be checked once during June and again in August for the presence of weeds. Contingent on landowner cooperation, any established weed patches would be spot sprayed to kill noxious weeds. Spot spraying would minimize potential impacts from herbicide drift onto desirable forbs and shrubs. No aerial spraying will be conducted. Future Modification of Sage Grouse Mitigation Plan There may be reasons to modify this Sage Grouse Mitigation Plan in the future based on the success of the activities implemented, changes in sage grouse resource management priorities and objectives, improved habitat mitigation methods or technology, or other reasons. For example, if sage grouse were to become federally listed as threatened or endangered, additional sage grouse protection measures might be mandated. Although mitigation for potential impacts to sage grouse and sage grouse habitat along the pipeline corridor is expected to be implemented and completed within a short period following pipeline installation, it should be understood that American Soda, the BLM, and the CDOW view wildlife mitigation as a dynamic process and assume that future modifications to the Sage Grouse Mitigation Plan may be necessary. Any such modifications would be developed through consultation among the parties. Wildlife MitiRauon Plan 2-5 Yankee Gulch Sodium Minerals Protect Amerion Soda, L.L.P.