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<br /> <br />'. <br /> <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />EXHIBIT n <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />SCIEN'l'H'IC INl-'OW1NrTON <br /> <br />MEXJC^N CUT / GM.ENA M()UN'J',~ IN HgSgM~CJ1 PLU~SgHVI;; <br /> <br />ECOLOGICAl, llESCI< 1.!,'j'J.ON <br />..---.---.--.---,-.-.,-.-,.--- <br /> <br />Nexican Cut is a hanging valley (cirque) on the eastern side of <br />Galena Mountain. Galena Mountain is composed of alternating layers <br />of I",rtiallly motamorpl1os(!u li.mestone ilnd quart"ite which have been' <br />Lipped up and worn differentially by (Jlacial action. lis a result, <br />tll') topo'.J\"up!1y of f1cxicnn Cut resembles a series of shelvcl:> of in- <br />creasing altitude Oll each of which lies a string of interconnected <br />ponds or tarns. At the top of the cirque lies Galena Lake nestled <br />between the two peaks of Galena l1ountain. <br /> <br />'rhe v(~getation of Nexican Cut is characterized as a forest-tundra <br />ecotone - a transitional plant community with an open, subalpine forest <br />of Englemann spruce and alpine fir (Pice~ enSLell~~l,!., l\bi7~ <br />lasiocilrp~) at the lower levels; sparse, dwarf0d spruce-f~r or <br />.''krumilo-lz' at the middle level; and sedgc-dominnted tundra at the <br />upper luvels around Galena l,ake and along the ridges. <br /> <br />~rhe most important component of the ecosystem at MCldcan Cut currently <br />under investigation is the pond complex. 'l'he lincmr arrays of ponds <br />at different levels oaeh have their own independent drainage patterns <br />ancl form it unique experimental series. 1\11 arc fed by snowmelt ilnd <br />riJ infi'lll f ilre CX(.lubed I sceJl1in~fly, to -the same c I.irna ti.c pressurCB, <br />i1nd yet of\:en contain dist.i.notly different fauna and flora. The boU,olilt <br />of some arl~,Garp('tell with I::,:ootes bolnnderi, a prim.l.t,i.vo spore-bCdJ:.lllq <br />trachc,?phyt<;" PQliulnt~()ns"(j.CTi1"c s:-ilalllaillf,:ir, ~~~l'>J:.t!.~~I~l.',l. ~:!5!E.J:.!1U!!!, ,.' <br />have l~fe JHst:OI:~es wInch v,'ry from pond t.o pond" N')lUC<ln Cut hm:bo)."f; <br />aL l'".:wt two typIC'; of life history not: cOlOmonly found in thilJ sp('ci.()f.; - <br />il l'l:lllpJl,JCltjon or (he J.al"vdl perioc.l and J:"opl"oduc:Li.vu maturity in tho <br />.Larval morpho '!'hcnl ilre alGo two major plankt.on community types IIv;d,li" <br />tained by a combination of b.i.olQ'JiCil1 and physical factors. 'l'he detail' <br />ed comparisons of these arc facilitated by the c:1C)8C proximity of <br />lJonc1s with differing cowmunity type!3 - DC) more 1:l1t,1I 50 yards apart. <br />'J'hc'iC features havc, uncl continue to, provide lUatel~ial for limnologicill. <br />studies. <br /> <br />Studies of tet'restd.al ol"<janisms arc not as advancod as those of the <br />aqua tic communities" IJowevcr, l1exican Cu t has been shown to harbo): <br />"iSOlates" of the y",llow-belliod marmot which differs in life history <br />patterns dependent on altitude. Ants of the genun Formica also hav(l <br />apparently c1evolopc<l pc.lculiar li[o history patt(1J:ns'-"i!"(jii"ii"Ec'd to high <br />altitudes. COlllpr01wnsive vegetationill analyses havo been undertaken <br />only i.n the vicinily of the ponds Oil tbe lower levels of the cirque. <br />Further studies w'ill be necessary to characteri:t.o the tundra plant <br />co~nunitius on the upper levels of Mexican Cut. <br />