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periods between grazing events. Green needlegrass, New Mexico feathergrass, American <br />vetch, purple prairie clover, fourwing saltbush and winterfat have been removed. <br />Western wheatgrass may persist in trace amounts. Blue grama dominates the community <br />and has become ` sodbound.' Galleta, threeawn, sand dropseed, bottlebrush squirreltail, <br />sixweeks fescue, plains pricklypear, walking stick cholla broom snakeweed, and hairy <br />goldaster have all increased. <br />This plant community is resistant to change due to grazing tolerance of blue grama. A <br />significant amount of production and diversity have been lost when compared to the <br />HCPC. Loss of cool season grasses, winterfat, fourwing saltbush and nitrogen fixing <br />forbs have negatively impacted energy flow and nutrient cycling. Water infiltration is <br />reduced significantly due to the extensive shallow root system (root pan) characteristics <br />of sodbound blue grama. Soil loss may be obvious where flow paths are connected. <br />It will take a very long time to return this community back to the reference community <br />with improved management. Drought expedites the transition toward the Reference <br />Community by reduction of blue grama sod, providing new niches within the sodbound <br />stand for recruitment. Desertification is advanced, renovation would be very costly. <br />Production ranges from 250 to 850 pounds of air -dry vegetation per acre per year and <br />averages 550 pounds." <br />With respect to the Juniper and /or Pinyon Dominated Community corresponding to this <br />ecological site, the NRCS states: <br />"This plant community is typically found adjacent to a juniper or pinyon seed source. <br />Long term encroachment of one -seed juniper and pinyon pine has occurred. Heavy <br />continuos grazing, lack of fire and long term non -use and /or mechanical soil disturbance <br />can initiate or accelerate the encroachment. A combination of prescribed grazing, brush <br />management, insects /disease and fire are methods, which can control the encroachment. <br />Increased tree canopy intercept significantly impairs the water cycle. Loss of herbaceous <br />ground cover due to increased competition from the trees will increase runoff causing soil <br />erosion. Herbaceous production and diversity has decreased significantly. <br />Total herbaceous production can be extremely variable depending on the tree canopy <br />cover, but may range from 50 to 400 pounds of air -dry vegetation per acre. <br />EFCI submits that these site specific ecological site conditions associated with the Southfield <br />Mine site readily establish that the landowners' contention that the lack of tree encroachment on <br />their lands, which they report has never happened, is completely inconsistent with the current site <br />conditions. Their assessment of the current ecological condition, status and trend of their <br />property is totally inaccurate. <br />The landowners further contend, that `in order to have a successful grazing program, we cannot <br />have the larger majority of woody stemmed plants be rabbitbrush which can be toxic to cattle <br />and horses." <br />12 <br />