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RECLAMATION PLAN EXHIBIT E (CONT.) <br />Non-irrigated grass seed mix <br />Seed Rate PLS/acre <br />Yellow Sweetclover 2.00 <br />Smooth Brome 14.00 <br />Blue Gramma 1.50 <br />17.50 <br />If the seed is broadcast, the amount will be increased by <br />75% and spread on a rough surface. The seeded areas will then be <br />dragged or raked thoroughly to set the seed. It is important to <br />keep cattle off the revegetated areas until the grasses have been <br />established for at least three growing seasons. If this is not <br />done, the grasses will not be established adequately and may <br />require reseeding. The cattle tend to utilize the new grass <br />growth heavier than surrounding areas thus damaging the seeded <br />area. <br />It has been our experience on other operations that the <br />seeded area will have a heavy cover of weeds after the first <br />year. The second year there are fewer weeds as the grasses start <br />to take hold. By the third year the weeds are mostly gone and <br />the grass has established itself so it will grow in future years. <br />These weeds also shade the seedbed, retain snow in the winter and <br />act as a wind break for the newly emerging grasses. <br />WEED CONTROL <br />The revegetated areas will be monitored closely each spring <br />for the first two years to determine if noxious weeds are invad- <br />ing the area. Weed control will be initiated if the problem <br />becomes serious or if an excessive weed cover is still present at <br />the end of the second year. In noway should this be taken to <br />mean that we will try to eradicate all the weeds from the site. <br />Some weeds are beneficial to the upland game species in the area, <br />and they provide important protection from the elements during <br />winter and nesting sites during the spring. Total eradication of <br />weeds from the site is not necessarily desirable, so we will be <br />using controls on the noxious weeds and letting the rest grow in <br />select areas. It may be necessary to control weeds by mowing <br />after the first year and the feasibility of chemical weed control <br />methods will be studied should this method not work. Control of <br />noxious weeds is important to the state so we will follow USDA <br />Extension Service recommendations to control them. <br />17 <br />it