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permit area <br />with most stands being small and isolated. The largest contiguous stands <br />are <br />• <br />on the east <br />side of the permit area. These aspen stands occupy about 170 acres within <br />the <br />permit area. <br />Extensive aspen stands are located on mesic sites on north, northeast, <br />and <br />east -facing <br />slopes in the upper portions of the Sage Creek and Hubberson Gulch drainages <br />outside of <br />the permit area. Aspen occupy similar sites within the permit area, but <br />are <br />less extensive. Predominate understory within the aspen stands was limited to scattered <br />scrub and herbaceous vegetation species. In some of the more open areas within the aspen <br />stands, a dense understory composed primarily of snowberry, chokecherry, and serviceberry <br />was often present. A typical aspen stand as found on the Seneca II -W permit area is shown <br />as Figure 11-4. <br />Steep Mountain Brush. Within this type, which occupies approximately 336 acres within the <br />revised permit area, the extreme steepness of slopes often corresponds with the presence <br />of underlying resistant geologic material, usually sandstone. Soils are shallow and <br />droughty and the vegetation reflects this lack of surface moisture. Vegetation cover in <br />general is less, with relatively little development of Gambel's oak; when oak is present <br />i : is usually dwarfed in stature. Serviceberry is the dominant along with mountain <br />mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus). Mountain big sagebrush may be present as scattered • <br />individuals, along with bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata). Crass cover is typically sparse <br />with mainly Montana wheatgrass, bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum), and Indian <br />ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides). Forbs typical of open habitats such as double <br />bladderpod (Physaria acutifolia) and desert groundsel (Senecia eremophilus) occur. <br />Western Wheatgrass/Alkali Sagebrush. Within this type (approximately 94.7 acres), the <br />unifying and controlling environmental factor is the presence of very heavy, although <br />often deep, soils that are penetrated very slowly by plant roots as well as air and water. <br />The most abundant and consistently present species of these sites is western wheatgrass <br />(Agropyron smithii), whose ability to root through extremely heavy soils is well known. <br />Occurring along with it are a variety of what amounts to spring ephemeral species that <br />maximize growth during spring and are dormant during the summer when the heavy soils <br />become extremely dry and do not typically recharge from summer precipitation. These <br />species include wild onion (Allium acuminatum), Pacific aster (Aster chilensis), timber <br />milkvetch (Astragalus miser), arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), one -flower <br />woodsunflower (Helianthella uniflora), holly -leaf clover (Trifolium gymnocarpon), and • <br />mules -ear (W ethia amplexicaulis). The latter can form large monocultures that seem to <br />4 <br />