2024-01-31_REVISION - M1977344 (25)

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Red Creek Quarry, Exhibit J - Vegetation Information 5 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 The Las Animas series consists of deep, somewhat poorly drained soils. These soils formed on bot- tom lands in loamy alluvium. The slope is 0 to 2 percent, and elevation is 4,300 to 4,900 feet. The average annual precipitation is 12 inches. The average annual temperature is 53° F, and the frost- free season is 155 to 165 days. The native vegetation is salt-tolerant grasses and woody plants. Riverwash This soil is found in streams and is derived from stream alluvium. Its texture is sandy to sandy loam. It is somewhat poorly drained with slopes of one to three percent. Riverwash is a nonsaline soil with calcium carbonate content below one percent (USACE 2013). Wilid Series (formerly Wiliey Series) The Wiley series consists of deep, well-drained soils that formed in loess on sandstone uplands. The slope is 1 to 4 percent, and elevation is 4,400 to 5,200 feet. The average annual precipitation is 12 inches. The average annual temperature is 53° F, and the frost-free season is 145 to 175 days. The native vegetation is mainly short plains grasses. These soils are used for grazing. Section 3: Field Survey Methodology 3.1 Vegetation Survey Area The vegetation survey was conducted within the various soil type areas found within the Mining Permit and Affected Area Boundary. Maps 1 through 12 (Attachment A) show the locations of each of the survey tran- sects as well as the soil types. 3.2 Field Documentation Sample locations were chosen to include at least one transect within each soil type located within the Mining Permit and Affected Area Boundary. At each location, a 100-ft transect was measured and marked with pin flags. The overall percent cover within the area was visually estimated. The five most dominant plants within one foot of the transect were identified and any other notable species in the vicinity were also recorded. 3.3 GIS Data Collection Each transect endpoint was mapped using a Garmin handheld GPS unit in addition to collecting location and photo documentation using the ESRI ArcGIS Survey 123 application on a mobile device. Section 4: Field Survey Results 4.1 Plant Species Observed Table 1 lists all the species observed and identified during field observations August 8-10, 2023.