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Section 780.18(b) Continued. <br />live handling is implemented, mechanical manipulation of the replaced topsoil will be <br />minimized to avoid damage to incorporated plant propagules. Where live handling is <br />not feasible, farm tractors will be used to chisel plow the replaced topsoil. Chisel <br />plowing alleviates any compaction caused by the scrapers and assures a good bond <br />between the graded spoil and topsoil to eliminate the possibility of topsoil slippage. <br />This practice also tends to promote root penetration. <br />If after chisel plowing soil aggregates remain relatively coarse, the area will be disked <br />or cultipacked as necessary to prepare a mellow, yet firm seedbed. Following seedbed <br />preparation, the area will be seeded to the appropriate cereal grain mulch species. All <br />cereal grains and subsequent permanent grass and forb seedings will be drill seeded <br />with aheavy-duty rangeland drill pulled by a rubber-tired farm tractor. Cereal grains <br />will be planted on all reapplied existing topsoil, and all areas will be mulched with <br />either cereal grains or woody plant residues. <br />Seedbed preparation for the perennial mixture will be minimal to prevent the loss of <br />volunteer shrubs. When the area is ready for perennial seeding, the perennial mixture <br />• will be seeded in two separate operations. First, all of the perennial grass and forb <br />species will be seeded along the contour of the slope in a manner that creates small <br />ridges and lessens the likelihood of sheet runoff. Following drill seeding of grass and <br />forb species, shrub species will be overseeded using broadcast seeding methods in <br />pre-selected areas to establish shrub clumps. Seeded areas will be dragged or <br />harrowed to cover the seed. Broadcast seeding of shrubs has been successfully <br />utilized at the nearby Bourg Strip Mine, resulting in significant increases in woody plant <br />densities. <br />The spring following the fall planting, most likely in April or May, shrub transplanting <br />will occur in selected areas, if warranted based on the observed levels of shrub <br />reestablishment from seed, using shrub seedlings and shrub pads from adjacent areas. <br />Shrub pad transplants will involve excavation of small basins in the regraded surface <br />using awheel-loader or similar equipment and placement in the excavation of shrub <br />pads removed from adjacent areas and containing several health shrubs, along with <br />associated root stacks and soil. Planting during the spring results in minimal damage <br />to the seeded vegetation and lessons the potential mortality that can be expected <br />when seedlings are transplanted into stands having more developed root systems. <br />This technique has proven effective at other mine sites in northwest Colorado. <br />TR-19 780-79 Revised 12/99 <br />