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0 Summary of Historic Weed Control Practices — Seneca II Mine <br />Historical weed control at the Seneca II Mine, as a part of the revegetation program, has <br />been conducted only through chemical control measures using herbicides. There have <br />been no biological or mechanical control (mowing) measures used at Seneca II. <br />The reclaimed areas have been surveyed annually for noxious weeds to determine the <br />need and level of treatment necessary. Canada thistle ( Cirsium arvense has been the <br />primary target species in all areas, with slightly lesser activity directed towards areas of <br />whitetop ( Cardaria draba and hounds tongue ( Cynoglossum orcianale Yellow <br />toadflax ( Linaria vul aris and Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica) have been <br />included in control efforts in recent years. <br />Control of Canada thistle, and the toadflax species has been effective using Tordon 22K <br />and 2,4, -D Low Volume /Ester formulation. Control of whitetop has been effective using <br />Telar and Escort. Hounds tongue has been controlled using either of these herbicides. <br />The applied herbicide for Canada thistle and the toadflax species has consisted of a tank <br />mix of 0.5% solution of 22K Tordon and 0.5% solution of 2,4,D Low Volume esther <br />formulation in 250 gallons of water. The tank mix for whitetop is 5 ounces of Escort and <br />5 ounces of Telar per 250 gallons of water. The application rate using the spot spray <br />method has been 1 oz. of Telar /Escort per acre. The application rate for Tordon/ 2, 4 -D <br />mixture is I pint Tordon 22K and 1 pint of 2,4 -D per acre. Surfactants or penetrants such <br />as Activator 90 or BIOSURF have been added to the tank mixes to enhance the <br />effectiveness of the herbicides allowing more uniform coverage and less applied <br />herbicide. The areas identified during the weed control surveys have been sprayed in May <br />and June as weather permits. A spot spray gun method concentrates the spray on target <br />plants, reducing potential impacts to adjacent desirable vegetation. <br />The Weed Control Logs for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 following this discussion <br />summarize the level of effort that has been conducted over the last four years and reflects <br />the effort over the life of the reclamation activities. During the 2009 field season whitetop <br />was the target species. One area of whitetop was sprayed in the Wadge Pasture in 2009. <br />Canada thistle and hounds tongue are on the decline due to the efforts in the past and <br />during the previous three years. Establishment and development of an effective perennial <br />cover in reclaimed areas has aided in weed control. Additional details can be found in <br />the Seneca II Annual Reclamation Reports submitted to the CDRMS. <br />Future Annual Reclamation Reports for PSCM will contain a similar table listing of the <br />weed control logs indicating the date, the general location sprayed, the target species, <br />herbicide mixture used, amount applied, and the operator's name. In addition, a map will <br />be included in the annual report showing the areas where the weed control was <br />conducted. <br />