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Six abandoned orchards occur within the study (see Attachment 2.04.10-8, midground of <br />Figure 4-9, formerly Peabody Appendix 10-4). The dominant species in these orchards is <br />apple (Malus sylvestris), with peach (Prunus persica) and apricot (Prunus armeniaca) also <br />occasionally present. The orchards were established coincidentally with establishment of the <br />Nucla community and mining activities in the Telluride Mining District where much of the <br />harvested fruit was sold to the mining community. By the 1940's the market was essentially <br />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, Figure <br />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 vegetation <br />in or near these ditches is dominated by many of the species that occur in the swale and <br />irrigation pasture vegetation types. Cottonwoods, boxelder (Acer negundo), and willows are <br />prominent components of the vegetation associated with these ditches, while the dense cover <br />of graminoid and occasional forb species protect the banks of the ditches from erosion. A total <br />of 17 ponds, 4 of which are in poor repair, occur within the study area. Five of these ponds <br />February 2015 JR -66) 2.04.10-51 <br />