Lafayette Grass Planting Specs.pdf

Native Grass Planting (NRCS Standard 327) Sites 1 & 2

Wiota & Wayne Townships, Lafayette County, WI Lafayette

Wiota/Wayne 1/2N 5E 1, 36 Darlington 608-776-4028

Lafayette

Melissa Keenan Mike Dreischmeier

4/5/10 4/5/10

1 9

Native Grass Planting (NRCS Standard 327) Sites 3 & 4

Wiota Township, Lafayette County, WI Lafayette

Wiota 2N 5E 23,24,26 Darlington 608-776-4028

Lafayette

Melissa Keenan Mike Dreischmeier

4/5/10 4/5/10

2 9

102.7 Ac to be seeded

County Road M

Sta te Hw y 1

Site 1 - Lafayette County

660 0 660 1,320 Feet ¯

Legend

Property and Project Boundary

Native Grass Seeding Area

EWP Management Plan Map

Food Plot - Do Not Seed

Section 1 - Wayne Township T1N R5E

79.2 Acres to be seeded

C ounty

M in k Fa rm Ro ad

EWP Management Plan Map Site 2 - Lafayette County

Section 1 - Wayne Township T1N R5E

Date: 3/31/2010

660 0 660 1,320 Feet ¯

Legend

Access Road

EWP Boundary

Native Grass Seeding Area

Property Boundary Food Plot - Do Not Seed

0.9 Ac to be seeded

2.5 Ac to be seeded

8.5 Ac to be seeded

WIOTA

Philippine Rd

EWP Native Grass Planting Map Site 3 - Lafayette County

Section 26 Wiota Township T2N R5E

660 0 660 1,320 1,980 Feet¯

Legend

Acess Road

EWP Boundary

Food Plot - Do Not Seed

Native Grass Seeding Area

Local Roads

17.4 ac to be seeded

County Highway

M

Thor Ln

WIOTA

EWP Native Grass Planting Map Site 4 - Lafayette County

Sections 23 & 24 - Wiota Township T2N R5E

660 0 660 Feet ¯

Legend

EWP Project Area

Area to be seeded

Food Plot - Do Not Seed Access Road

Native Grass Planting Specifications Lafayette County, Wisconsin Emergency Watershed Protection Program – Floodplain Easement

1. Scope: Utilizing native grass seed within fields totaling approximately 211.2 acres that have been row cropped the previous season. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Standard 327 – Conservation Cover and NRCS Wisconsin Agronomy Technical Note 5 provide guidelines for the planting. This work shall consist of site preparation activities, furnishing and installing the necessary vegetative material (native plant seeds) as specified below and providing post planting maintenance located within the native grass seeding area shown on the attached maps.

2. Pre-planting conference: A pre-planting conference will be held between the contractor and

NRCS or their delegate to discuss the planting operation. Planting will not begin before this meeting.

3. Site Descriptions: All sites are located within the floodway or 100 year floodplain of the

Pecatonica River and although they are frequently flooded, row crops have been planted annually.

a. Site 1 – one field totaling 102.7 acres in row crop stubble. Site 1 is located in Section 1 T1N R5E in Lafayette County, Wisconsin.

b. Site 2 – one field totaling 79.2 acres in row crop stubble. Site 2 is located in Sections 1 T1N R5E in Lafayette County, Wisconsin.

c. Site 3 – three fields totaling 11.9 acres of existing row crop stubble. Site 3 is located in Section 26 T2N R5E in Lafayette County, Wisconsin.

d. Site 4 – one field totaling 17.4 acres in row crop stubble. Site 4 is located in Section 23 and 24 T2N R5E in Lafayette County, Wisconsin.

4. Soil Preparation

a. Pre and post-emergence weed control

i. All planting sites will be treated with a nonselective post emergence control herbicide that will provide residual weed control after planting.

ii. The herbicide will be chosen so that it does not kill planned grass and forb species.

iii. Herbicide must be applied according to manufacturer’s recommendations.

Herbicide shall be selected and applied by licensed pesticide applicator.

Applicator shall follow manufacturer’s recommendations including (but not limited to); environmental locations, rates, application methods and equipment, surfactants, waiting periods, and safety requirements. Contractor shall supply all herbicides, surfactants and other tank additives used in this project. Contractor or USDA-approved sub-contractor shall maintain appropriate licensing for spraying herbicides and shall present copies of licenses at USDA Site Inspector’s request. Notifications, if necessary, shall be the contractor’s responsibility.

5. Seed Planting Materials

a. Seed Mix Standards

i. The contractor shall be responsible for acquiring, purchasing, and delivering the specified seed mixes to the project area.

ii. Species purchases for seed mixes shall be native to the project area and original seed origin within 200 miles of the project area.

iii. Seed shall be purchased as Pure Live Seed (PLS)

iv. Seed shall be clean and free of debris and/or weed seed

v. Prior to seeding, the contractor shall provide seed tags of all seed mixes to be sown to the NRCS technician. Seed tags shall include the following information;

Botanical and common names, composition of seed mix by PLS, local genotype of seed (State and County), percentage of purity and germination of each species, weed seed species percentage and composition, year of production and date of packaging, and source of seed mix including contact information of supplier.

b. Approved Seed mixes*

i. Wet mesic Seed mix – See Attached Figure 1

*No substitutions will be allowed without written approval from the NRCS Technician. If availability of a certain species is limited, documentation of the unavailability is required prior to allowing substitution.

6. Seed Sowing Activities

a. Seed shall be planted with a “no-till” drill.

b. Planting Equipment

i. Equipment standards

1. All equipment shall be clean of seed, soil, and fertilizer residue prior to entering project area.

2. Equipment shall be calibrated and in good working condition.

3. Operator shall be familiar with the equipment operations and have clear understanding of the planting plan. The operator shall have a minimum of 40 hours experience operating the same or similar equipment.

ii. No-till drill

1. Equipment shall be designed to install native grass seed (such as Truax or Tye manufacturers or equivalent).

2. Equipment shall be calibrated to required seeding rates specified on the planting plan.

3. Seed shall be installed no deeper than 0.25 inches.

7. Post planting maintenance

a. Mowing shall occur after completion of native seeding. Mowing shall occur when average height of vegetation is 18 inches. Mowing will be no lower than 6 inches. Two mowings will occur on the planting sites between July 1 and August 15, 2010. Two additional mowings will occur on the planting sites between July 1 and August 15, 2011.

8. Quality Control

a. Quality control is understood to mean taking those measures necessary to ensure that the seeding occurs as described in the plan and specifications. NRCS shall be responsible for final quality control certification.

b. The contractor is responsible for ensuring the seeding crew adheres to the expected standards of performance and shall provide daily/routine work direction.

c. Quality control will be reviewed during the “pre-planting” conference. In addition, NRCS representatives will be available for consultation, but they will not serve as daily inspectors. It is the responsibility of the contractor to provide day-to-day oversight of the planting crews.

9. Measurement and Payment

a. Seeding will be paid lump sum. Payment will include all labor, plants, materials, equipment, and tools.

b. Mowing will be paid by the unit job under the item mowing. Payment will be lump sum and include all labor, materials, equipment, tools, and mobilization. Partial payment will not be made for mowing operations that are not completed.

Figure 1 - Wet Mesic Seed Mix (211.2 acres)

Grass Mix - PLS pounds per acre

Common Name Scientific Name

% of Mix Lbs/acre

Lbs PLS req'd

Big Bluestem Andropogon gerardii 25 2 422.4

Switchgrass Panicum virgatum 25 2 422.4

Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans 25 2 422.4

Canada Wild Rye Elymus canadensis 13 1 211.2

Virginia Wild Rye Elymus virginicus 13 1 211.2 Total 100 1,689.6

Forb Mix - PLS oz/acre

Common Name Scientific Name

% of Mix oz/acre oz PLS req'd

Blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta 20 1 211.2 Prairie Blazing Star

Liatris pycnostachya 20 1 211.2

Showy Tick Trefoil

Desmodium canadense 40 2 422.4

Yellow Coneflower Ratibida pinnata 20 1 211.2 Total 100 1,056

No substitutions allowed without prior authorization.