2018-03-30_PERMIT FILE - C1981038 (4)

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§2.04 APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR SURFACE OR UNDERGROUND MINING ACTIVITIES -- MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES. 2.04.10 Vegetation Information. (1) Plant community types affected by surface operations and facilities are originally delineated on Map 3 Vegetation. The only vegetation type disturbed by the loadout is agriculture. Other nearby vegetation types include Pinyon Juniper and Riparion. (2) Reference areas are not proposed. (3) The vegetation map includes sufficient adjacent areas to allow evaluation of vegetation as important for fish and wildlife. (4) Exhibit 5 Vegetation contains a study of orchard productivity. Plant communities disturbed and located adjacent to the Loadout are described below. Agricultural: Agricultural areas are located primarily in the valley of the North Fork of the Gunnison River and on Garvin Mesa. Fruit orchards containing peaches, apricots, prunes, cherries, pears, and apples are the most economically important crops. Irrigated pastures and haylands are also common. Vineyards have also become an important crop. Pinyon-Juniper: The pinyon-juniper zone is found above the loadout on the south and west exposures. The transition zone extends from about 6,500 feet to 8,000 feet and is characterized by dense to widely scattered pinyon and juniper trees separated by a sparse to thick understory of shrubs such as serviceberry, Gambel oak, mountain mahogany, snowberry, skunkbush, and squawapple. Big sagebrush, bitterbrush, and mormon tea are scattered in the transition zone on the relatively drier sites. Northern and northeastern slopes in the transition zone tend toward the mountain brush type, having nearly pure stands of shrubs and widely scattered junipers. Other areas resemble the pinyon-juniper community except for the thick undergrowth of shrubs. TR-20 2.04 - 29 3/01