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RULE 2 - PERMITS <br />Within the Mountain brush Reference Area established for the Seneca II Mine, native shrubs are <br />• the dominant life form observed, contributing 66.3 percent toward total first -hits for vegetation <br />cover. Of this total, Gambel's oak contributed 25.2 percent, Saskatoon serviceberry contributed <br />21.3 percent, and mountain snowberry contributed 13.9 percent. Also observed in the area was <br />hound's tongue. Total average vegetation cover for first hits was 81.5 percent. For herbaceous <br />vegetation, total average cover for first hits was 14.4 percent. Cover by standing dead, litter, <br />bare soil, and rock averaged 1.4, 11.1, 6.1 and 0 percent, respectively. Average species density <br />was 35.3 species per 100 square meters. Total herbaceous production in 2008 was 770.9 lbs. <br />per acre. Native perennial cool season grasses and native perennial forbs were most prolific, <br />contributing 308.7 and 421.1 lbs. per acre, respectively. The livestock carrying capacity is <br />calculated at 0.471 aum per acre. <br />Within the Sagebrush Grassland Reference Area established for the Seneca II Mine, native <br />shrubs are the dominant life form observed, contributing 26.5 percent toward total first -hits for <br />vegetation cover. Of this total, big sagebrush contributed 12.2 percent and mountain snowberry <br />contributed 12.2 percent. Native perennial cool season grasses contributed 19.5 percent toward <br />total first -hits for vegetation cover. Of this total, fescue (Festuca saximontana) contributed 11.7 <br />percent and Agassiz bluegrass contributed 2.1 percent. Native perennial forbs comprised 19.4 <br />percent of total first -hit vegetation cover. Total average vegetation cover for first hits was 67.1 <br />percent. For herbaceous vegetation, total average cover for first hits was 40.6 percent. Cover by <br />standing dead, litter, bare soil, and rock averaged 3.4, 12.1, 17.4 and 0 percent respectively. <br />Average species density was 28.2 species per 100 square meters. Total herbaceous production <br />in 2008 was 961.8 lbs. per acre. Native perennial forbs and native perennial cool season grasses <br />• were the biggest producers, contributing 499.6 and 394.3 lbs per acre, respectively. The <br />livestock carrying capacity was calculated at 0.588 aum per acre. <br />• <br />The remaining undisturbed vegetation cover types include improved pasture/CRP, <br />sagebrush/mountain brush mosaic, cropland/small grains, mesic drainage/riparian, western <br />wheatgrass/alkali sagebrush, steep mountain brush, and aspen. These undisturbed cover types were <br />mapped to a reconnaissance -level and were reviewed on a qualitative basis during the 2008 ESCO <br />baseline vegetation survey. <br />• Improved Pasture/CRP Lands - This vegetation type is present in areas that were likely <br />cultivated for the production of small grains but later were converted to grasslands through <br />planting of domesticated grasses, mostly intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) <br />and smooth brome (Bromopsis inermis). The conversion of some of these lands occurred under <br />provisions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture sponsored "Conservation Reserve Program" <br />(CRP) that encourages stabilization of marginal cropland through planting of perennial grasses <br />and other plants that would control erosion on these often highly erodible fields. The CRP lands <br />in the baseline vegetation study area are apparently planted to a relatively simple mix of exotic <br />grasses. Some native perennial cool season grasses are also present including Agassiz bluegrass <br />(Poa agassizensis), as well as a few native and introduced annual and biennial forbs. A total of <br />24 species of native perennial forbs were observed in this plant community. This vegetation <br />unit is found on sites that were formerly occupied by Sagebrush or Mountain Brush vegetation <br />types. <br />PSCM Permit App. 2.04-136 6/15/09 <br />