2018-02-21_REVISION - M2008017 (7)

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HABITAT EVALUATION DATE The habitat evaluation site visit was made on April 16, 2006. The results of the habitat evaluation are presented below. Appendix A presents photographs of the project area and shows the vegetation complex within the project area. Appendix B presents the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data sheet for habitat evaluations for the T'reble's meadow jumping mouse. Vegetation Communities. Two vegetation communities were identified in association with wet areas on the site. Both communities are designated as palustrine. One community is associated with a feeder or irrigation ditch that flows across the middle of the property. This community has a seedling woody component of cottonwood. The other community was associated with a stock pond at the southwest corner of the property. The vegetation communities associated with the pond were restricted to the pond shoreline and bottom. Monocultures dominated these dominant plant complexes. The vegetation communities within the ditch and pond are supported by a "bath -tubs' scenario created by the topography around the depessions. The upland areas are clearly demarcated due to the upland vegetation and topographic elevation change occurring at the Derr Property. Cotmnunity A. This community is associated with a small feeder ditch that carries water from the northeast quarter of the property toward the southwest corner of the property. The ditch is small and shallow, but does hold pockets of surface water throughout the year. This area is characterized as a palustrine/emergent/persistent community. Several seedling plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides) are present along the ditch bank and constitute the dominant tree in the community.. Reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundin acea) is the dominant grass present. The canarygrass forms a thick monoculture along the ditch. The dominant forb in this community is Canada thistle (Cirsium. arvense). Community B. This community is associated with the pond at the southwest corner of the Property. The pond was filled by the property owner prior to my field work efforts, but an adjacent pond and previous vegetation species list work supported the following description of the pond. Soil pits were dug at the filled pond site to assist in the determination of the soil field characteristics at the site. This area is characterized as a palustrine/ernergent/persistent community. heed canarygrass was the dominant grass and broad-leaved cattail (Typha latifolia) was the dominant forb in this community.