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defunct, and the orchards began to be abandoned (Johnson, personal communication, May, <br />1987). Interviews with operators who live or operate within the study area indicate that <br />incidental use is made of these orchards by the local population today, but for all practical <br />purposes, they are no longer harvested. In many cases, they are fenced, but livestock are <br />periodically allowed access to use the forage in the understory, as evidenced by the "high <br />lined" lower tree canopy and grazed condition of the understory plants. Several operators <br />complained of livestock health or digestive problems because of ingestion of apples. The <br />understory is predominated by herbaceous species such as quackgrass, plantains, and <br />dandelion. <br />Facilities were identified as farm support areas if they were located away from farmsteads <br />These included animal handling pens, stockyards, silage pits, and equipment storage or <br />boneyard areas. These areas are dominated by weedy annual and perennial species. <br />Disturbed areas, a rather self descriptive term, included areas with heavy animal <br />concentrations, mechanical disturbance due to equipment operation, trash dumps, and waste <br />ground associated with various agricultural and support activities (Attachment 2.04.10 -8, <br />Figure 4 -10, formerly Peabody Appendix 10 -4.) <br />Ponds and irrigation ditches of various capacities are scattered throughout the study area. A <br />large lateral ditch (West Lateral) runs through the western half of the study area, however <br />several smaller lateral ditches deliver water to the various irrigated fields, pastures and hay <br />fields in the study and permit area (see Section 2.04.7, Hydrology Description). The <br />vegetation in or near these ditches is dominated by many of the species that occur in the swale <br />and irrigation pasture vegetation types. Cottonwoods, boxelder (Acer negundo), and willows <br />are prominent components of the vegetation associated with these ditches, while the dense <br />cover of graminoid and occasional forb species protect the banks of the ditches from erosion. <br />A total of 17 ponds, 4 of which are in poor repair, occur within the study area. Five of these <br />ponds occur within the permit area. Ponds are maintained to catch irrigation and storm runoff <br />water for livestock use. All operators stated that the ponds were not associated with any <br />irrigation systems or water storage for that purpose. The vegetation around these ponds is <br />similar to that found in the swale type and along the irrigation ditches. Pond weeds found <br />August 2013 (PR 08) 2.04.10 -53 <br />