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III. OAKBRUSH COMMUNITY <br /> <br />OAKBRUSH COMMUNITY: GENERAL DESCRIPTION <br />The oakbrush vegetation community is the dominant vegetation community at the RPE <br />azea. It is present on the north-facing slope, gentle toeslope and outwash plain, and on the <br />terrace above the North Fork of the Gunnison River. As noted previously, this community <br />is composed of three vegetative layers, the tall shrub (>3 meters in height), a medium <br />height (1-2 meter) shrub component, and a low herbaceous graminoid and forb component <br />(Figure 2). Based on both vegetation cover and woody plant density parameters, Quercus <br />gambelii is the dominant plant species in this community, and comprises the majority of <br />the tall shrub vegetation layer. The medium height shrub layer is dominated by <br />Symphoricarpos rotundifolius. The most common component of the herbaceous layer is <br />Poa pratensis. Within the community, woody shrub and tree species dominate, with four <br />woody plant species comprising nearly 93 percent of the vegetation cover. Competition <br />for sunlight, nutrients, and moisture regulate the composition of this community. <br />Underneath the upper two vegetative layers, little sunlight reaches the ground. Sunspots, <br />ephemeral sunlight penetration areas, are the locations of the most dense growth of <br />herbaceous grasses and forbs. In several areas, small openings (<1000 squaze feet) in the <br />oakbrush canopy have allowed graminoids and xeric low shrubs to become established and <br />outcompete the oakbrush. Species present within these small clearings include Stipa <br />species and Purshia tridentate (antelope bitterbrush),. both characteristic of xeric moisture <br />regimes. <br />AGENCY COORDINATION <br />• <br />On September 12, 1995, Michael Savage met with Mr. Tony Waldron of CDMG to <br />discuss the conceptual Refuse Pile expansion and the baseline vegetation sampling <br />required prior to on-the-ground implementation of the expansion. Savage and Savage <br />prepazed a vegetation sampling proposal for CDMG review and submitted the proposal on <br />September 18, 1995. On September 20, 1995, Michael Savage met with Tony Waldron to <br />evaluate the RPE area in the field. Mr. Waldron concurred with the sampling regimen <br />proposed in the September 18, 1995 correspondence and provided verbal approval on <br />September 20, 1995 and in written correspondence dated the same day. Copies of the <br />proposal and the CDMG approval are contained in Appendix 1. <br />During discussions with CDMG, the rationale for baseline vegetation sampling of the RPE <br />area was discussed. The need to characterize the vegetation of the azea slated for <br />disturbance in terms of vegetation cover, herbaceous production, woody plant density, and <br />species composition was acknowledged, to establish the nature of the pre-disturbance <br />oakbrush community at the RPE area. It was also acknowledged that the plant <br />community to be re-established on the completed RPE area would not, in all likelihood <br />resemble the pre-disturbance oakbrush community. For this reason, CDMG and Savage <br />-3- <br />