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2.10 Exhibit J: Vegetation Information <br /> Consistent with the NRCS soil description, native vegetation in the proposed facility area is pinyon and <br /> juniper with understory of Scribner needlegrass, wester wheatgrass, blue grama, sideoats grama, <br /> Gambel oak and mountain mahogany. Noxious weeds have not established because very little <br /> disturbance exists and historic disturbances are old enough to have revegetated successfully. Mr. Rick <br /> Romano of the US Department of Agriculture, NRCS, Fremont County office visited the site on <br /> November 17, 2014. The vegetation inventory is provided in Exhibit H. <br /> The CNHP Potential Conservation Area included the following vegetation description. <br /> Grape Creek is a long, perennial drainage that winds through rugged, granitic, lower montane hills west of <br /> the <br /> north end of the Wet Mountains. The steep canyon slopes above the stream are sparsely covered with rocky <br /> pinon-juniper woodland (Pinus edulis-Juniperus spp.)with mountain mahogany(Cercocarpus montanus) <br /> and Gambel oak(Quercus gambelii)groves. There are small prospect mines in the hills of the stream valley. <br /> This perennial stream is recovering from intensive land use in the past(grazing, railroad corridor). It <br /> previously washed out annually during high energy spring flooding once water flow resumed after being <br /> much <br /> reduced in winter by Deweese Reservoir upstream. This repeatedly stripped all vegetation out of the riparian <br /> corridor until recent years when the streambank vegetation has held. Intensive land use has been curbed <br /> and <br /> the riparian vegetation is recovering. Currently, the predominant vegetation within the corridor is the <br /> graminoid-dominated streambanks that have been gradually expanding. The entire reach is dotted with <br /> Rocky Mountain juniper(Juniperus scopulorum)and one seed juniper(Juniperus monosperma) individuals <br /> interspersed with groves of narrowleaf cottonwood (Populus angustifolia)and/or plains cottonwood (Populus <br /> deltoides). There are some groves of mature cottonwoods where the ground has significant woody debris as <br /> well as areas of regenerating cottonwoods that likely will replace the junipers as canopy dominants in the <br /> future. Shrubs are sparse along the reach, but show signs of establishment and regeneration in many <br /> places. <br /> Coyote willow(Salix exigua)is the most common, although peachleaf willow(Salix amygdaloides)saplings <br /> are also present. The herbaceous cover is lush along the banks. Dominant graminoids include pasture <br /> grasses like quackgrass(Elymus repens)and Kentucky bluegrass(Poa pratensis), although native <br /> Nebraska <br /> sedge(Carex nebrascensis), common spikerush (Eleocharis palustris), and scouring rush horsetail <br /> (Equisetum hyemale)are common and abundant. There are scattered forbs throughout, including wild mint <br /> (Mentha awensis), water horehound (Lycopus americana), and others. Vines such as riverbank grape(Vitis <br /> riparia)and clematis (Clematis ligusticifolia)crawl up and cover rock outcrops and juniper and cottonwood <br /> trees in several areas. Tributaries of Grape Creek are moderate to high gradient sandy washes with <br /> ephemeral to intermittent flow. Tree canopies, where present, are mixed evergreen-deciduous woodlands, <br /> often with sporadic cover. <br /> 57 <br />