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..7 ! • <br />particularly willows and cottonwoods, for revegetation of habitat disturbed in construction of the inlet and <br />outlets. <br />The reclamation plan adequately deals with wetlands revegetation and the "Texas Crossing" <br />that will connect the pond to the Colorado River during peak flow events. It is much less detailed in <br />describing how the remaining impacted acreage will be reclaimed. As with the wetlands, we favor the <br />use of native species for reclamation. We recommend reduced planting rates for introduced grass species <br />and the addition of native shrub species to the revegetation list. Shrub species were not included in the <br />plan you provided but are critical for wildlife, especially mule deer. Four-wing saltbush, shadscale <br />saltbush, skunkbush, and sagebrush would be appropriate for the dry areas, while cottonwood and willow <br />would do well in wet areas. <br />Finally, the planting of seed should in and of itself not constitute reclamation of the site. <br />We recommend that objective evaluation criteria (species occurrence, dominance, % ground cover, etc.) <br />for revegetation be set prior to mining. Reclamation would not be deemed successful until those standards <br />were met or exceeded. There are a number of private firms that could assist the developer in putting <br />together such a plan. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture-NRCS might also be of assistance. As with the <br />wetlands mitigation, the goal would be to end up with a fully functional native plant community following <br />reclamation. <br />As always, the Division of Wildlife thanks you for the opportunity to comment on <br />significant wildlife issues related to mineral extraction and reclamation. Please feel free to contact me <br />at (970) 255-6112 if you wish to discuss these issues in greater depth. <br />Sincerely, <br />-c _/ <br />Paul J. den <br />Wildlife Manager <br />Glade Park District <br />xc: Yamashita <br />