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RULE 2 PERMITS <br /> <br />South Taylor/Lower Wilson – Rule 2, Page 43 Revision Date: 2/13/19 <br /> Revision No.: TR-135 <br />fir comprised less than 1 percent of the area. Several small areas of Juniper comprised less than 1 percent <br />of the area. Areas of native or improved haylands comprised approximately 1 percent of the study area. <br />Several other vegetation types occurred along the railroad corridors. A small area of riparian forest <br />occurred along Wilson Creek. Greasewood vegetation type occurred along the lower stretches of both <br />Wilson and Good Spring Creeks. Wheat and barley are planted in cultivated lands along the Wilson and <br />Good Spring Creek railroad corridors. <br />Aspen - The aspen vegetation type occurred primarily on northwest facing slopes at elevations above <br />7,400 feet. Large continuous stands of aspen occurred along the upper portions of the West Fork of Good <br />Spring Creek in sections 6, 31, and 32. In sections 19 and 20, aspen stands occurred on northwest facing <br />slopes leading to the East Fork of Wilson Creek. A typical view of the aspen vegetation type within the <br />study area is at Figure 3.1 of Exhibit 10, Item 5. Two distinct phases occur within the aspen vegetation <br />type; a shrub dominated understory phase and an herbaceous understory phase. The shrub-dominated <br />phase occurred at lower elevations and was dominated by western snowberry. The majority of the study <br />area was comprised of this phase. The other herbaceous understory phase was dominated by perennial <br />forbs, the most prominent being sweet anise, Porter's ligusticum and peavine. This phase occurred at <br />higher elevations. These phases have been recognized in the nearby White River National Forest <br />(Hoffman and Alexander, 1983). They indicate that the snowberry phase occupies the lower edge of the <br />aspen zone and was classified as the driest of any of the phases in their study. In the drier direction of the <br />phase it is replaced by mountain shrub or sagebrush vegetation. The herbaceous phase was described as <br />having a continuous layer of forb species with the near absence of shrub species. Fendler meadowrue <br />may dominate on more well-drained soils while Porter ligusticum and sweet anise dominate on less well- <br />drained soils. <br />Total understory vegetation cover within the study area aspen type was 66.9 percent (Table 3.3 of Exhibit <br />10, Item 5). Bare ground was 6.5 percent, while litter and rock cover combined was 26.5 percent. <br />Perennial grasses had 18.3 percent cover while perennial forbs had 34.1 percent. Dominant grasses <br />included Kentucky bluegrass, nodding brome and blue wildrye. Dominant forbs included sweet anise, <br />and western yarrow. Woody species had 23.1 percent cover with western snowberry as the dominant <br />shrub. <br />Total understory vegetation cover within the Collom aspen reference area (72 percent), shown on Map 4 <br />and described in Exhibit 10, Item 6, was higher than that of the study area. Bare ground exposure was 8.9 <br />percent, while litter and rock cover combined was 19.1 percent combined. Compared with the study area, <br />perennial forbs and shrubs were lower with 26.8 and 5.2 percent cover respectively. Perennial grasses <br />however, were higher with 38.1 percent. Dominant forbs included creeping root violet with 5.2 percent <br />cover and poverty weed with 4.4 percent cover. A test for equivalency of the reference area was made and <br />it was found to be equivalent (please see Exhibit 10, Item 6). <br />The mean herbaceous production within the aspen vegetation type of the study area was 129.1 grams per <br />square meter (Table 3.3 of Exhibit 10, Item 5). Perennial grasses comprised the majority of the <br />production with 68.7 grams per square meter. Kentucky bluegrass, nodding brome and blue wildrye were <br />the dominant grasses. Perennial forbs produced an average of 48.3 grams per square meter. Ballhead <br />waterleaf and leguminous forbs were the highest producers. <br />Mean herbaceous production in the Collom aspen reference area was 124.4 grams per square meter. <br />Perennial grasses produced more than 68 percent of the total production with 86.4 grams per square <br />meter. Mean annual above ground herbaceous production in the reference area did not exceed that of the <br />study area samples. A test for equivalency of the reference area was made and it was found to be <br />equivalent.