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CHAPTERTHREE Emtironmenta~l Consequences reclamation would be dedicated to establishing woody browse species appropriate for mule deer wintering range. Pipeline Corridor Vegetation Types. The proposed pipeline corridor has been modified in a number of areas to improve constructability. The revised route generally follows the original roL~te and would cross the same vegetation types and affect approximately the same acreages of the various vegetation types. Noxious Weeds. The Pipeline Plan of Development (Section 3.2 of the plan) includes protection measures to prevent the potential spread of noxious weeds. These include cleaning of construction equipment prior to entering the project azea and after having been used in aeeas having noxious weeds and surveying and treating noxious weed infestations ~~ong the pipeline corridor prior to pipeline construction. Noxious weed control within sage grouse habitat would use spot-spraying rather than aerial spraying to m;n;m;ze potential impacts on forbs and shrubs preferred by sage grouse. Control of noxious weeds would continue during project operation as part of ROW maintenance (Section 4.1 of the plan). These measures would help to ensure that noxious weeds would not spread within the pipeline corridor or onto adjacent. lands. Revegetation. Impacts would mostly be the same as assessed for the Proposed Action. The Pipeline Plan of Development (Section 3.4 and Attachment 6 of the plan) includes more detail on reclamation and erosion control. • All disturbed lands would be re-sceded, except for wetlands. The proposed seed mixture is based on BLM recommendations and on mixtures used on parallel pipeline corridors and includes a mixture of native and non-native grass species and one native shrub. A different seed mixture stipulated by the landowner would be used on Unocal property. Revegetatio~i within sage grouse habitat (mileposts 19 to 27) would utilize seexl mixtures containing sage grouse forage species, and may include planting of mountain big sagebrush. This would modify the: vegetation composition of the ROW. The amount of woody debris and rock remaining ~~n the ground surface of the ROW would not be allowed greater than in surrounding aeeas, and any excess rock would be removed for use as riprap at stream or washout crossings, buried on the ROW, or used as barricades to deter use of the ROW as a road. This would enable restoration of pre- construction vegetation cover and productivity where rocks excavated from shallow bedrock would otherwise interfere with re-establishment of vegetation. Mulch would be applied to all aeeas of highly erodible soils and in aeeas with slopes greater than 15 percent. Erosion control fabrics would be applied on asite-specific basis to control soil erosion. Parachute Site Vegetation Types. Impacts would be the same as described for the Proposed Action. Noxious Weeds. Impacts would be the same as described above for the Piceance Site. Revegetation. Impacts would be the same as described above for the Piceance Site. 3-10 Vegetation