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RULE 2 PERMITS <br />FA = Forage Available (oven -dry lbs/acre) <br />FC = Forage Consumption Requirement (900 lbs for cattle AUM, 150 lbs for sheep <br />INUME <br />Results - The vegetation of the Danforth study area is typical of northwestern Colorado. Hillsides are <br />covered with a mixture of mountain shrub and aspen forests at upper elevations while sagebrush <br />dominates the lower elevations. Valley bottoms are dominated by a mixture of grassy meadows and <br />sagebrush. The valley bottoms are used more intensively for grazing than upland areas. Hay is produced <br />in small acreage near several of the ranch houses that occur in the valleys. The land surface of the <br />Danforth study area has a general northeastern exposure and is deeply divided by several intermittent <br />streams that flow from the southwest to the northeast. Exposures are variable but most are north, <br />northeast, and northwest. Slopes vary considerably from 0 to 20 percent along ridgetops whereas <br />sideslopes range from 30 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 8660 ft. in the extreme southwest portion <br />of the permit area to 6620 ft. in the northeast portion. <br />A diversity of species occur at the Danforth study area. A total of 176 different vascular plant species <br />were observed within the study area (Table 3.1 of Exhibit 10, Item 5). Of these, three were annual <br />grasses, 28 were perennial grasses, five were grasslike, 21 were annual forbs, 94 were perennial fortis, <br />one was a succulent, three were sub -shrubs, 12 were deciduous shrubs, three were broadleaf evergreen <br />shrubs, five were deciduous trees and one was an evergreen tree. The majority of the species have their <br />origin in western floras, however, several have origins in mid -western and northwestern floras. Some <br />weedy species have invaded from Eurasian floras. <br />Weedy Species - Of the 176 species observed, 33 species are considered weedy (Thorton et al. 1974). <br />Two noxious weed species were observed (quackgrass and Canada thistle). Of the 33 weedy species, two <br />were annual grasses, one was a perennial grass, 10 were perennial forbs, one was a sub -shrub, one was a <br />deciduous shrub and one was a broadleaf evergreen shrub. Many of the weedy species were found along <br />roadsides, around stock ponds, corrals, and other disturbed locations. Both quackgrass and Canada thistle <br />were found primarily in the meadow type. <br />Threatened and Endangeredpecies - No threatened or endangered species are known to occur within the <br />vicinity of the Danforth study area (Colorado Natural Heritage Inventory, 1984 personal communication). <br />None were observed during the course of this study. <br />Reclamation Species - Several of the native species occurring within the project area have commercially <br />available seed for use in reclamation. Of the perennial grasses, western wheatgrass, bluebunch <br />wheatgrass, slender wheatgrass, Indian wheatgrass and big bluegrass have several commercial varieties <br />available. To increase diversity in areas, mountain brome and Great Basin wildrye could be considered. <br />Among the perennial forbs with commercially available seed at a reasonable price is Lewis flax and <br />Rocky Mountain penstemon. More higher priced and not so readily available forb seed includes western <br />yarrow, Louisiana sagewort, asters, arrowleaf balsamroot, Indian paintbrush, northern sweetvetch, aspen <br />peavine and scarlet globemallow. Commercially available shrub seed includes serviceberry, rubber <br />rabbitbrush, chokecherry, current, woods rose and big sagebrush. <br />Description of Vegetation Types - Vegetation types within the Danforth study area are divided into two <br />categories, native and agricultural, the most predominant type was the native type which comprised 99 <br />percent of the entire acreage of the study area (Table 3.2 of Exhibit 10, Item 5). Agricultural types <br />comprised 1 percent of the area. Six different native vegetation types were defined within the permit <br />area. Their distribution is presented on the vegetation maps (Maps 4A and 4B). The most abundant type <br />was mountain shrub, comprising approximately 53 percent of the total study area. Sagebrush - grassland <br />comprised approximately 29 percent. Aspen comprised 13.6 percent of the area. A small area of Douglas <br />South Taylor/Lower Wilson — Rule 2, Page 42 Revision Date: 11 / 18/16 <br />Revision No.: MR -163 <br />