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RULE 2 PERMITS <br /> ,:3ta:t: 1i1�'.:C•5...^.4Rr..T{K r}°`^r N..v .. .. .;+x ak^`Y> .. .r•:. vA`1=t'!k e "3eYC.aR+Y#.t"`.'biM'iifAdG+YY!W3i✓ti«. ✓F .r wMeclf^•'h.. w..�"*i+;•vittr�. ...:.tom+;«Ya.,al*.,.'i.`J . <br /> Woody plant density in the grassland reference area was 348 woody plants per acre with dominance by <br /> low rabbitbrush (201 plants per acre) and mountain big sagebrush (136 plants per acre). The shrub <br /> lifeform accounts for 100 percent of the total (Table 2.04.10-55). <br /> The comparison of the calculated t-statistic (t*) for the grassland community baseline study area and the <br /> grassland reference area with the respective tabular t values indicates that in each case t* is less than t. <br /> So, it can be concluded that the total vegetation ground cover and production for the grassland community <br /> baseline study area is comparable (equal) to the values obtained from the grassland reference area(Table <br /> 2.04.10-38). <br /> Juniper Scrub - The juniper scrub community baseline study area occupies 580.1 acres and is located on <br /> the steeper slopes in the drier, rockier, and skeletal soil covered northern portions of the study area (Map <br /> 4). The juniper scrub reference area site is located just north of the study area boundary on a low rolling <br /> mesa top and adjacent west-facing moderately steep slope and occupies 77.9 acres (Map 4). This <br /> reference area was selected because of limited extent of the community in the vicinity of the study area, <br /> reasonable access, low probability of future disturbance, and the representative combination of two <br /> aspects that is similar to a majority of the area delineated as Juniper Scrub. <br /> The juniper scrub community is dominated by a juniper overstory with assorted shrubs, grasses, and forbs <br /> occupying the areas understory. Most of the community is located on steep, relatively barren and <br /> erodable soils along the drier, northern edge of the study area. A small portion of this community can be <br /> found on the flat tops on the slopes where it intergrades into the sagebrush dominated uplands. The <br /> juniper trees appear healthy and are expanding into both the mesic and xeric sagebrush areas that are <br /> adjacent to this community type. <br /> A total of 77 plant species were observed within the juniper scrub community baseline study area while <br /> the reference area exhibited 51 taxa. No sensitive species were observed. The noxious weeds musk <br /> thistle and houndstongue were observed(Table 2.04.10-34). <br /> The average ground cover within the juniper scrub baseline study area was 34.69 percent, with 14.88 <br /> percent rock, 19.97 percent litter, and 30.47 percent bare ground exposure. Dominant plant species and <br /> their ground cover percentage included: Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp. <br /> wyomingensis) (6.56 percent), Griffith's wheatgrass (Elytrigia albicans) (3.88 percent), cheatgrass (3.81 <br /> percent), Sandberg bluegrass (2.53 percent), and western wheatgrass (2.09 percent). Of the total plant <br /> cover, 83 percent (28.81 percent average cover) was due to perennial plants (excluding noxious weeds). <br /> Annual species contributed 17 percent and noxious weeds 0.0 percent of the composition. Six perennial <br /> species contributed 3 percent relative cover or composition (3 percent is the typical lower limit for plant <br /> diversity bond release evaluations),with five of those species being grasses and one shrub(Table 2.04.10- <br /> 56). <br /> The average herbaceous production within the juniper scrub baseline study area was determined to be 213 <br /> pounds per acre, oven-dry weight, with 90 percent (192 pound per acre) due to perennials (grasses <br /> contributing 152 pounds per acre, forbs contributing 35 pounds per acre, and sub-shrubs contributing 5 <br /> pounds per acre) and 10 percent(20 pounds per acre) due to annuals (grasses contributing 13 pounds per <br /> acre and forbs contributing 8 pounds per acre). The remaining 0.1 percent (0.3 pounds per acre)was due <br /> to noxious weeds(Table 2.04.10-57). <br /> Woody plant density was 2,395 plants per acre with dominance by Wyoming big sagebrush (817 plants <br /> per acre), mountain big sagebrush (355 plants per acre), and mountain snowberry (340 plants per acre). <br /> _ The shrub lifeform accounts for 90 percent (2,168 plants per acre), sub-trees account for 3 percent (65 <br /> plants per acre)and trees account for 7 percent(163 plants per acre)of the total (Table 2.04.10-58) . <br /> Collom—Rule 2, Page 53 Revision Date: 12/20/19 <br /> Revision No.: TR-135 <br />