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planted aze Blue Flax, Rocky Mountain Penstemon, Palmer Penstemon, Blue Lupine, Gaillardia, and Fleabane. The first wildflower seeding in 1995 used a wide variety of species. Seeds were distributed in a range of microenvironments that included planting in established grass communities as well as on freshly distributed sod. A dry spell during the two prime months for germination resulted in drought kill of a number of seedlings. Nonetheless, observations from the first wildflower seeding that could be made included the following: 1. PLurting into established grass results in sparse success with regard to creating showy patches of wildflower growth, but is successful enough to establish a significant gain in species diversity. 2. Planting in freshly spread soil works far better, but only on sites where grass growth is not expected to be extremely favorable, e.g. north facing slopes. 3. Many of the species thought to be capable of growing on the site do not do well in any of the wide variety of environments encountered. This is probably due to the specific habitat requirements for those species. (Heffner, 1998) Two different planting methods were used in 1998. For the first method, wildflower seeds were hand planted in hundreds of small "gazdens" where there were openings in the grass cover. The soil was raked, the seeds planted on slopes with aspects other than north facing and then raked agam. The other method was to distribute seeds onto freshly spread topsoil. Blue Flax was distributed over the entire area to be seeded, and Gaillazdia and Rocky Mountain and Palmer Penstemon were distributed in lazge patches. Immediately after the wildflower seed was distributed, the grass seed, primarily Blue Grama and various wheatgrasses, was distributed in a separate operation. The seeding rate for the grass was about 50% of the normal rate to reduce competition for the wildflowers. As of this writing it is too early to determine what the long term results will be for the two seeding methods. A vegetaticn survey was wnducted in the fall of 1998 and, generally, the early results are what one would expect. Where the wildflower seeding rate was high, the wildflowers were more abundant relative to the grass. Where the wildflower seeding rate was lower, the grass is more abundant. In 1998 it was reported drat Rocky Mountain Penstemon and Blue Flax were doing the best. It was also noted that where tall weeds dominate (Ragweed and Lambsquarters), there was not much wildflower growth, even where wildflowers were heavily planted. Grass growth in these areas was more evident. This suggests that wildflowers are not able to compete with the vigorous growth of the weeds. A recommendation from the 1998 vegetation survey is that the wildflower plantings should be on freshly distributed soils. The planting should be done first in marked zones followed by grasses at a rate of about 50% of the normal rates. Weed invasion in disturbed areas is always a concern. In the case of Queens Canyon the problem was compounded because of the importing of soil and other organic material from a variety of locations within the county. In particulaz, Canada Thistle, Spotted Knapweed and Diffuse ICnapweed have become a problem. Based on the distribution of the Spotted Knapweed and the Diffuse ICnapweed, it appears the Spotted Knapweed was introduced in topsoil and the Diffuse ICnapweed via longdistance dispersal, most likely from vehicles. Canada Thistle appeazs to be (12)