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1 <br />CHAPTERFOUR Environmental Consenuences <br />' • Begin final reclamation of each mining panel as soon as mining activities in the panel aze <br />concluded. <br />• Reseed all disturbed azeas with BLM-approved seed mixtures to meet post-mining land use <br />objectives. <br />• Prepaze the seedbed, use appropriate seeding methods, apply mulch, fertilizers or soil <br />amendments, as appropriate for site-specific conditions, to enhance reclamation success. <br />• Monitor interim and final reclamation operations and re-treat as needed until plant cover <br />standazds aze met. <br />' • Restrict livestock access to newly reclaimed azeas, as appropriate, until vegetation is <br />established. <br />• Eradication of noxious weeds that invade the Project Area as a result of project activities. <br />' 4.7.2 Direct and Indirect Impacts <br />Direct impacts include the loss or removal of vegetation due to construction of support facilities, <br />roads, and well field development. Pinyon-juniper woodland communities and sagebrush <br />' shrublands are the dominant communities that would be affected by the proposed Yankee Gulch <br />Project. Within the well f eld and along the pipeline condor, any woody vegetation that would <br />interfere with construction, equipment traffic or operations would be removed; however, the <br />herbaceous cover would be lefr in place. <br />Indirect impacts would include degradation of vegetation due to trampling and soil compaction, a <br />' reduction in species diversity, increased fire hazard, accidental spills of fuels, lubricants, or other <br />materials, and fugitive dust. Other potential indirect impacts include the introduction of noxious <br />weeds in disturbed areas that would compete with desired species. <br />' Impacts to vegetation due to trampling and soil compaction would likely be minor assuming that <br />soils and root systems are not disturbed and soils aze not too wet during construction activity. <br />Impacts would be the same for al] alternatives and would be short term, approximately 1 yeaz or <br />less. A short-term reduction in species diversity is inevitable; however, over the long term, most <br />species could be expected to reinvade disturbed azeas. Potential impacts from range fires would <br />' also be the same under all alternatives because of increased human presence in the Project Area <br />(Section 4.17). Accidental spills and fugitive dust would likely have only minor and localized <br />effects on vegetation. <br />4.7.2.1 Proposed Action <br />' Direct impacts under the Proposed Action from development of the Piceance Site, the pipeline <br />corridor, and the Pazachute Site would include the incremental disturbance or loss of <br />approximately 1,546 acres of vegetation over the 30-yeaz life of the project. Acres of vegetation <br />' disturbance aze provided by vegetation community type in Table 4.7-1. Long-term impacts, <br />including the disturbance of vegetation for process facilities, the existing experimental test mine <br />facility, a 50-foot-wide pipeline ROW, access roads, ponds and rail facilities, would affect 395.5 <br />acres for the life of the project. For the short term, 668 acres would be affected for construction <br />Vegetation 4-39 <br />