2009-08-13_PERMIT FILE - C1981019A (3)

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techniques may be altered to facilitate thin layers near the upper shoulders of the slope, with thicker layers near the bottoms. In this manner, the lower elevation areas that tend to catch more snow will receive and store greater quantities of moisture with the hope that some of the mountain shrub seed within the seed mix will be presented with enhanced opportunities for growth and development, especially taxa such as snowberry. The shoulders of the slope, where soil thickness has been reduced will present greater opportunity for sagebrush to develop given reduced competition from cool-season grasses. In order to facilitate proper accounting of the topsoil resource, topsoil placement on specific areas will be tracked by load counts of the equipment involved. In cases where only Sagebrush Steppe acres are reclaimed in one season, replacement volumes may be less than the currently approved 8-inch average (in the original permit area, approximately 20 inches in the South Taylor area). This does not cause undue harm on the resource as the "left over" material will be utilized in the development of deeper soil areas elsewhere in the reclamation progression. All activities will be accurately and fully described within the confines of the Annual Reclamation Reports that include topsoil balance tracking. Another directive with regard to topsoil distribution (at the discretion of the field supervisor) will be instruction to equipment operators to NOT engineer the final surface, but to the contrary leave it in a very roughened state, where there is the opportunity to diversify the potential plant communities within individual reclamation blocks and further reduce erosion potential. The primary directives in this regard will be to not leave preferential pathways for erosion and to avoid development of surface features that will overly compromise proper seed placement by seeding equipment (e.g., steep and narrow ridges). Sagebrush steppe areas will by necessity be predominately smooth prior to seeding in order to accommodate the special needs of the preferred seeding equipment to be utilized on those sites. Another topsoil distribution technique that may be used in areas targeting Sagebrush Steppe would be the development of low berms using emplaced topsoil with the aid of equipment such as a road grader (see Figure 2.05-6 below). For ease of discussion, such berms could be termed "soil fences". These berms would act as natural snowfences trapping wind blown snow to aid sagebrush emergence and development. In this circumstance, a designed amount of topsoil (e.g. 9 inches) would be redistributed over a target area, however, berms would be developed utilizing only the topsoil resource. Where upper layers of topsoil have been pushed aside, a depth of remaining topsoil may be in the 2-4 inch range that should then help to encourage sagebrush emergence while discouraging vigorous grass growth. Where topsoil is bermed, a peak depth up to 30 inches may result. In these thicker topsoil areas, other taxa within the seed mix (or alternate mix) should provide additional competitive advantage. It is critical that berms be constructed on the contour to preclude development of preferential erosion pathways. It is also necessary that berms only be constructed where they will be approximately perpendicular to the prevailing winds, otherwise there is little benefit to be gained. Furthermore, berms would have to exhibit low and rounded shoulders to allow seeding equipment to operate properly. Implementation of techniques such as this must necessarily occur as a result of site-specific opportunity (as opposed to plan) given a variety of factors, not the least of which is availability of equipment and personnel. As indicated in Figure 2.05-6 below, the dimensions (in cross-section) would need to be based on the width of seeding equipment to facilitate proper seeding operations, although the widths indicated may be changed in the field, especially given aspect differences. In this regard, sagebrush conducive seed mixes would be applied to the shallow soil areas as well as the uphill- facing side of the berm (west-facing slopes). This is the area that will receive maximum benefit from entrapped snow. The downhill-facing side of the berm would ideally receive the grassland conducive mix owing to the steeper slope (4:1). For easterly aspects, the grassland conducive 2.05-49 Revision Date: 3/14/08 Revision No.: TR-72