Draft EIS Appendix 31 

APPENDIX 31—RFO NOXIOUS WEED PREVENTION 

PLAN 

NOXIOUS WEED PREVENTION PRACTICES

Land Use Planning 

Land use planning for noxious weed prevention involves— 

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Working with Federal, county, and city planning staff and zoning committees to include 

consideration of noxious weed management when developing or approving plans, permits, or

leases. 

Including noxious and invasive weed risk factors and prevention considerations in all 

environmental analyses for projects, permits, plans, and alternative development.

Surface Disturbance 

Surface disturbance considerations for noxious weed prevention include the following policies— 

Minimize the amount of surface disturbance when possible to reduce the area for noxious and 

invasive weed establishment. Reestablish vegetation on all disturbed soil from construction, 

reconstruction, and maintenance activities, except road travelways. 

Reseeding should be accomplished during the first available window of opportunity. 

Require certified noxious weed-free seed or testing at a suitable laboratory before allowing the 

use of the seed for any reclamation or rehabilitation project. 

Require certified noxious weed-free straw or hay for use as mulch.

Require power- or high-pressure cleaning of construction equipment prior to moving into 

relatively noxious weed-free areas and/or leaving known noxious weed-infested areas. This 

practice currently is used on multistate and multicounty projects. 

Inspect gravel pits and fill sources to insure the material comes from noxious weed-free sources. 

Monitor the construction site for noxious weed control needs until vegetation is reestablished.

Retain reclamation bonds for noxious weed control until the site is returned to the desired 

vegetative condition. 

Remove noxious weed seed sources from adjacent sites or from the access route that may 

contaminate the construction site. 

Vehicle Management 

Vehicle management for noxious weed prevention includes the following policies— 

Survey roads for the presence of noxious weed sources before maintenance activities. Control

noxious weeds if necessary before maintaining the roadway.

Rawlins RMP A31-1 
Appendix 31 Draft EIS 

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Reseed disturbed areas that are not part of the road running surface or that are not needed for

maintenance purposes. 

Retain desirable roadside vegetation to discourage noxious weeds. 

Remove noxious weed seed sources or control noxious weeds that could be picked up by passing 

vehicles on significant access routes. 

Require power- or high-pressure cleaning of off-road equipment before moving into relatively 

noxious weed-free areas. 

Ensure that noxious weed prevention and related resource protection is considered in travel 

management plans. Close or reduce the number of vehicle trails in noxious weed-infested areas

to reduce the spread of noxious weeds. 

Livestock Management 

Livestock management for noxious weed prevention includes the following policies— 

Avoid trailing livestock through noxious weed infested areas. Where possible, trail on roadways

where detection of noxious weeds is more likely to occur. 

Allow only certified noxious weed-free hay and grain (whole, rolled, steamed, or cubed) or 

pelletized feeds to be fed on federally managed lands. Emergency feeding may be exempted with 

written authorization from the Field Manager. 

Manage grazing allotments to prevent excessive soil disturbance at salt licks, watering sites, and 

other livestock concentration areas. 

Avoid grazing any reseeded sites until vegetation is well established. 

Livestock used in cultural management of noxious weeds should be held in a noxious weed-free 

environment for a period of time before and after moving the livestock into the noxious weed

management area. This practice allows the animals to clean their digestive tract of noxious weed

seeds. 

Recreation Sites 

Recreation site considerations for noxious weed prevention involve the following policies— 

Ensure that areas under recreation permit have onsite noxious weed control, and minimize the 

spread to other areas. 

Require that all pack and saddle stock use only certified noxious weed-free feeds and straw 

bedding. 

Sign trail heads and campgrounds for noxious weed awareness, noxious weed prevention, and

noxious weed reporting techniques. 

A31-2 Rawlins RMP 
Draft EIS Appendix 31 

Fire and Fuels Management for Wildland Fires and Fuels/Vegetation 

Treatment 

Fire and fuels management for wildland fires and fuels/vegetation treatment, in consideration of

noxious weed prevention, includes the following policies— 

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Require the cleaning of fire equipment following fire activities in noxious weed-infested areas. If

possible, complete the cleaning before leaving the fire site. 

Consider noxious weed prevention measures in all fire rehabilitation plans by including the

noxious weed coordinator on the rehabilitation team. 

Require certified noxious weed-free seed or testing at a suitable laboratory before allowing the 

use of the seed in fire rehabilitation projects. 

Emphasize “light hand” fire suppression tactics to minimize the amount of surface disturbance. 

Avoid staging equipment and resources in noxious weed areas. 

Avoid off-road travel in noxious weed-infested areas.

A noxious weed control and monitoring plan, and a map of noxious weeds in the area, should be

included as part of the environmental analysis before conducting any fuels/vegetation treatments. 

Lands 

Land considerations for noxious weed prevention include the following policies— 

Evaluate private lands being considered for Federal acquisition through purchase, exchange, or 

donation for the presence of noxious weeds. 

Include a requirement to control and manage noxious weeds on federally authorized actions. 

Early Detection 

Early detection for noxious weed prevention includes the following policies— 

Provide training to field personnel in the identification of noxious weed species known to occur 

in the area and in preventative measures they are expected to follow. Special attention should be

given to equipment operators and fire personnel. 

Make noxious weed identification handbooks available to all field-going personnel. 

Make inventory and noxious weed occurrence information readily available to field personnel and 

personnel actively involved in planning and designing projects. 

Encourage field staff, land owners, and managers to recognize and document noxious weed

populations. 

Develop education and awareness programs where visitors and users of the lands assist managers 

in locating and identifying new invader species. 

Conduct systematic and periodic inventories to detect new noxious and invasive weed

infestations. 

Rawlins RMP A31-3 
Appendix 31 Draft EIS 

April 1999 

Recommended By: 

___________________________________________ ___________________ 

Assistant Field Manager, Support Center Date 

___________________________________________ ___________________ 

Assistant Field Manager, Minerals & Lands Date 

___________________________________________ ___________________ 

Assistant Field Manager, Resources Date 

Approved By: 

___________________________________________ ___________________ 

Field Manager, Rawlins RMPPA Date 

A31-4 Rawlins RMP