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United States Department of Agriculture <br />S <br />N K S <br />Natural mesom es conservation service <br />.Am Boyd,.Resome Conservationist . <br />P:•0: Boy <br />7 J =u ; s .. <br />To Whom it May Concern: <br />I was asked to comment on.the Technical Revision No. 55 Sect on.2.05. (2)(e) Revegetatioi► for <br />the New Horizon #2 Mine.of Western Fuels, Inc. After reading the'Revis tin, the following are <br />MY observations and comments intended to clarify what I believe are misoommunidatiOns. and <br />inaccuracies: <br />Pages 5 & 6: <br />It was stated that "irrigated hayland and pastureland are very similar in composition in many <br />cases and may be used interchangeable depending on the operator's needs." This may be tnie for <br />some fields that are managed for.grass:or graQs Wfalfa hay, and then also grazed by livestock at <br />various times of the year $ut theme are other: instances, quite common, when crop fields are <br />• managed solely as hayland,:particuWy.. alfalfa hay. This latter condition usually occurs on the <br />a better soil; bAd relies on a high level Of management by the operator. <br />This Revision Document rep the term cropland, hayland, wd p*ureland almpst <br />urterchahgeably and therefore fails tomake theta a distinctions between these three <br />pprop <br />agricultural land uses. ; The following definitions and discussion are mtended ta, clarify these <br />terms and encourage accurate use of them: . <br />+Crop#aind: Abroad term used to identify land which produces an agricultural- coxrnnd�ty. But <br />for United States Department of Agricultural purposes, it is more specifically aced for land that <br />is managed intensively with tillage and other cultural practices to _produce cornrnod3t es such <br />vegetables, grains, hay, stinge, etc: It is considered distinct from pasturreland in that periodic re- <br />seeding of a crop is usually;necessary to sustain a high level. production - Uccasionally,,.crop <br />aftermath wresidue may be grazed- a#ter.the: -crop is harvested. <br />Ha*104d : A term used to descrilx- Iand.that is used primarily to *oduce livestock. forage that is <br />mechanically harvested and stored for later use. It is considered cropland, and a high level of <br />manageri ent ( fertilizing, irrigating, pest control, etc.), with periodic re seeding, is usually <br />necessary to;sustain.production. As w ith, o th er cropland, _ hayland may. be grazed at various times <br />of the year depending on the forage grown and the needs of the pxo f <br />ducer >. The common types: o <br />hazy gi"own ut r stern Colorado include alfalfa, alfalfalgrass mix, =aloe grass {introduced and/or <br />: native species): <br />