Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Daub & Associates, Inc. Page 3-39 2015 NS Mine Plan Modification <br />1/5/2016 Section 3 General Site Conditions <br />3.9. Vegetation <br />3.9.1. Introduction <br />The sodium leases are located in the Piceance Creek Basin of northwest Colorado. <br />The major vegetation types in the region include: pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, <br />saltbush, greasewood, agricultural, and barren types (BLM, 1980). Within the White <br />River Field Office Area, pinyon-juniper and sagebrush vegetation types are <br />co-dominant in the region comprising 33 and 31 percent, respectively. In the higher <br />elevations (above 7,000 feet) conifer, mountain shrub, and broadleaf (aspen and <br />willows) types are predominant. Additionally, riparian vegetation (cottonwoods and <br />box elder) is found at lower elevations adjacent to perennial streams, throughout the <br />region. <br />Vegetation in the region has been described by the BLM (1980, 1983, 1984 and <br />1994), Tiedeman and Terwilliger (1978), and by Ward (1974). Specific studies near <br />the lease area have been conducted for the C-a oil shale tract (Rio Blanco Oil Shale <br />Project, 1977) and the Horse Draw Research Facility (VTN Consolidated, Inc., <br />1980). Studies conducted on the sodium lease tracts include: the EIS for the C-18 <br />oil shale tract (BLM, 1983); a biota study of Multi Mineral Corporation (MMC) leases <br />(LGL Ecological Research Associates, 1981 and 1982), terrestrial biology studies for <br />the Industrial Resources, Inc. (IRI) pilot plant Nahcolite Solution Mine Plan by Camp, <br />Dresser and McKee (CDM) and VTN Consolidated, Inc. (VTN) for this mine plan <br />application. Additionally, Rusty Roberts currently performs annual reclamation <br />status surveys for NS’s reclaimed well pads and for nearby native rangelands. The <br />2014 NS Reclamation Status Report is provided as Appendix 3B. Rusty Roberts <br />also completed a botanical survey for portions of the Natural Soda lease area in <br />April 2014 for federally listed Special Status Species (SSS) of plants (provided as <br />Appendix 3C). <br />LGL Ecological Research Associates (LGL) delineated six vegetation types within an <br />18,770 acre study area encompassing the sodium lease tracts: Pinyon-Juniper <br />Woodland, Chained Pinyon-Juniper. Big Sagebrush Shrubland, Greasewood-