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~~~~ <br />5[~G~~ <br />~#[~OC~ <br />~a~a <br />~oc~c~ <br />~~oa <br />0 <br />. 1 <br /> '~ <br />~ •. ~,.7 <br />.~ ~ '. <br />. ~ j ~' <br />' t <br />:~ ` <br />~ J ~ <br /> <br />• •'~'~ o ~e l <br />~ • <br />ff ~ <br />~ <br />r <br />_ f <br />~ <br />~ ,~~ <br />~ <br />~ <br />- _ ,, <br /> <br />~ ti: <br />~~~ <br /> <br />Apr ~Aay Jun Ju! A~~ <br />figure =t. Hydrographs of a variet<- of ~-ears on the Dolores River at Dolores illustrating the range of <br />variation from rear to year. It is this vaiiabilit< that favors some species and iiililUits others on the same <br />year, maintaiiung heterogeneit<- and species rich riparian plant comnnuilties. <br />Riparian vegetation of the Dolores River <br />Vegetation along the Dolores River downstream from McPhee Dam is typical of streams <br />transitional between lower montane and Colorado Plateau desert environments. Woody riparian <br />vegetation is characterized by sandbar willow, river birch, box elder, hawthorne, slcunkbn~sh, <br />red-osier dogwood, wild privet, and (in less confined reaches) narrowleaf and plains cottonwood <br />and strapleaf willow. Herbaceous riparian vegetation includes three-square, spikerush, horsetail, <br />red top, wild rye, saltgrass, Canada wild-rye, meadow foxtail, common-reed and a number of <br />other fortis, grasses, sedges and rush species. Higher river terraces along some reaches include <br />Ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, rabbit brush, big sage, and a range of other relatively drought <br />tolerant woody as well as herbaceous species. Upland vegetation is dominated by Pinyon pine, <br />western and Utah juniper, Gambel oak, sage, and saltbrush. <br />There are few published studies characterizing the vegetation of the Dolores River. Because <br />riparian plant inventories have consisted of relatively coarse assessments or have focused on <br />areas of small spatial extent, it is difficult to draw strong conclusions from existing data. <br />However, the few reports and st<idies that do address riparian vegetation allow some general <br />conclusions to be drawn. <br />The National Park Service conducted a wild and scenic river study on the Dolores and made <br />some general conclusions about vegetation along the Dolores River in the late 1970s (USDI, <br />1979). According to these U.S. Department of Interior reports, vegetation along the reach of the <br />49 <br />