2016-12-23_PERMIT FILE - C1982056A (8)

Home Browse Search

Meadow The meadow vegetation type occurs within the proposed permit area along many of the narrow ephemeral drainage bottoms. The community is very limited in extent, occupying only 361 acres or 2.8 percent of the • proposed permit area. It is not unlike the sagebrush/meadow vegetation type's understory, except that it is an early successional community, and productivity is usually lower due to poorer quality non -alluvial soils. The native climax vegetation type would normally be a sagebrush community, however, it appears that the sagebrush overstory was removed by plowing. Under prevailing climatic conditions, these drainage bottoms are too wet to be tillable. As a result, a combination of meadow grasses, sedges, and annual crop plants form an early successional meadow community. Very small areas of the meadow vegetation type can be found near stock -ponds and within very narrow and N, , steep -sided drainages, which could not be cultivated for topographic reasons. Because no surface facilities or other mining -related disturbance will occur within the meadow vegetation type and the acreage of the community is so small, no sampling of the meadow vegetation type occurred and no reference area is necessary. As identified on Table 24, Vegetation -Soil Correlation, and Table 38, Characteristics of Soils Underlying the Meadow Vegetation Type, three soils are found below the community. These soils are all deep and usually poorly drained. Parent material ranges from mixed alluvium to shale, while the permeability is moderately slow to very slow. The available water capacity can be moderate, but is usually high, and the land capability subclasses are Vw and VIe (see land use discussion under Rule 2.04.3 for further information regarding land capability subclasses). Impacts to Sensitive Species •With regard to Rule 4.05.6(2)(a)(iii), Rare and Endangered Plants, Twentymile Park and adjacent areas have been studied for threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant species. In the BLM's Green River -Hams Fork Round R Draft EIS (n.d.) no threatened, endangered, or rare plants were identified in the area encompassing the proposed permit area. In addition, plant composition surveys, performed in 1984 as part of this report within the proposed permit area, revealed no plants listed as threatened or endangered by the US Forest Service or US Fish and Wildlife Service. These composition surveys included anomalous habitats as well as the dominant habitats present. SOUTH MINING DISTRICT The information provided above can be applied to the SMD. Map 18, Vegetation Map, has been updated to show the vegetation types over the area to be undermined. It should be noted that the map update required only minor modification of the existing map, as the prior vegetation studies almost completely covered this area. Basically, the boundaries of the cropland and rangeland areas were expanded and updated to take into account current usage. EAST MINING DISTRICT Map 18, Vegetation Map, was modified to show the vegetation types that overlie the mine area and those to be disturbed by the construction of the Dewatering facility. Also, Map 18A, Vegetation Map, was created to show the vegetation types within portions of the EMD not covered by Map 18. This map also shows the bleeder fan site and the vegetation types occurring in and adjacent to the site. In reference to these sites, baseline vegetation data will be obtained prior to disturbing these sites and this data .will be used in developing the revegetation success criteria for these sites. The dewatering borehole site is of limited areal extent in a low sage community. The ponds associated with the dewatering system are located in pastureland (i.e. improved by planting of smooth bromes) which comprises the larger of the two sites. PR06-07 2.04-60 11/07/06