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' EXHIBIT J (Cont'd) <br />In this community soils are generally sandy or silty clay loams xith varying <br />' a,-nounts of rock and gravel. <br />The primary species found in this community are listed in Table 3. <br />' TABIE 3 <br />HILLTOP GRASSLAND <br />s ecies abundance (scale is 0-10 with 10 being highest) <br />Yucca Plauca 7 <br />' Gutierrezia sarothrae 6 <br />Artemisia filifolia 6 <br />A. friaida 4 <br />' Bouteloua ~racilis 6 (locally as much as 9) <br />Helianthus a.nnuus 3 <br />All~~sum allvsoides 3 <br />' Senecio spp. 3 <br />One of the best indicators of this community is the presence of Yucca 1~ auca. <br />' Although not an infallible indicator, it generally is found on soils xhere this <br />community also occurs. There are a fex places where Y. l~ uca is absent from a <br />particular stand that belongs to this community. <br />' In some small areas on the west-facing slope of the hill located on the east <br />side of the affected land are found a fex unusual stand of Bouteloua gracilis. <br />' These areas exhibit a heavy turf with a cover of 99~ or more. Most striking is that <br />the vegetation is a:nost exclusively of one species. The stands are very small, <br />' rarely exceeding 400 to 500 square feet, and are a biological oddity similar to <br />the Atriplex areas. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any readily apparent <br />' cause;hoxever, there is reason to believe the standsmay be a genetic variant of <br />Bouteloua ~racilis that is uncommon in this area because of marginal conditions. <br />' Shrub Areas <br />The remaining communities are of relatively minor occurrence and importance <br />' (except for the stockpile vegetation) and need only a brief description of each. <br />The Shrub Areas referred to here include only upland stands. These small areas <br />' that are found occurring in only one place, to any significance, provide a link <br />to the shrubby areas of nearby green Mountain. <br />' Two types of shrub areas are found. Both are common on hogback areas all <br />along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Furthermore, they maintain the <br />same relationship +.o each other here as they do elsexhere. <br />1 <br /> <br />43 <br />