2023-10-03_REVISION - M1977344 (9)

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Red Creek Quarry, Exhibit J - Vegetation Information 3 DRAFT for review purposes only. Use of contents on this sheet is subject to the limitations specified at the beginning of this document. Red Creek Quarry_VegReport_20230911 drought and grazing. Typical vegetation found within this region include buffalograss, blue grama, western wheatgrass, galleta, alkali sacaton, sand dropseed, sideoats grama, and yucca. 2.2 Climate The shortgrass prairie occurs in a semiarid climatic zone. It is the driest and warmest of the Great Plains grasslands, with cool winters and warm summers. Average precipitation is around 375 mm (15 in) ranging from 300 mm (12 in) in the north to 600 mm (24 in) in the south. Annual precipitation has a bimodal distri- bution occurring mostly before the winter and early spring and then during summer as monsoon thunder- storms. Summer precipitation events are mostly <10 cm with occasional larger events. High variation in amount and timing of annual precipitation impacts the relative cover of cool- and warm-season herbaceous species. Average daily temperature in July varies from 27°C in the southeast to 21°C in the northwest and along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Average daily temperature in January varies from 3°C in the south to -6°C in the northwest. 2.3 Land Use Most recently, the land within the Mining Permit and Affected Area Boundary has been used for cattle graz- ing. Electric transmission along overhead utility lines is also present within the area. The area is bordered on the north by the current operations of the Holcim Bear Creek quarry. The Minnequa Canal, owned by the Rocky Mountain Steel Mills also flows through the MTAC and across the northeast corner of the RCQ site. Access to the Mining Permit and Affected Area Boundary is limited by gates controlled by adjacent landown- ers, Holcim and the electric utility company. The closest public roads include County Road 112 to the east, State Hwy 96 to the south and State Hwy 50 to the north. 2.4 Soils There are 16 soil types within the Mining Permit and Affected Area Boundary, with a majority of the soil types within Fremont County (Attachment A). Vegetation is interdependent with soil type being a combination of the parent material, climatic factors such as temperature and rainfall, and the availability of water and nutri- ents within the soil matrix. The soils present in the Mining Permit and Affected Area Boundary for each county are described below. 2.4.1 Fremont County Soils Thirteen of the sixteen soil types within the Mining Permit and Affected Area Boundary are in Fremont County. Below are descriptions of the relevant soil series from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Soil Survey of Fremont County Area, Colorado (USDA 1995). Aquic Ustifluvents (similar to Pueblo County Las Animas series) Aquic Ustifluvents are deep, moderately well drained and somewhat poorly drained soils on stream terraces and flood plains. These soils formed in stratified alluvium. Slopes are 0 to 1 percent. The average annual precipitation is 11 to 13 inches, and the average annual air temperature is 51 to 53 degrees F. Depth to bedrock is 60 inches or more. The A horizon is fine sandy loam, loam, or silty clay loam. Kim Series The Kim series consists of deep, well drained soils on fans, plains, side slopes, fan terraces, stream terraces, and terrace breaks. These soils formed in alluvium and in eolian material. Slopes range from 0 to 15 percent. The average annual precipitation is 11 to 15 inches, and the average annual