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August 25, 1978 <br />• ~OIL.S AND VEGETATIVE INFORMATION <br />The Oliver and Hawksnest Mines are in an area of steep canyons <br />and in valley bottoms near the North Fork of the Gunnison River. <br />The surface soils (see soils description for mapping units 02 and R1) <br />vary widely in texture and composition as does the subsurface profile, <br />She steeper mined areas on the north side of highway 133 have a high <br />percentage of exposed bedrock on the surface. As a result of the <br />variability of the soil, no reliable estimates of topsoil thickness <br />and permeability can be made for the area. <br /> Determining how much topsoil is available for reclamation will <br /> have to be done on an individual site basis. However, the soil in <br /> the area varies from deeper soil on flat to gently sloped positions <br /> to the shallower soils with increased slopes. Accumulations of stone <br /> and cobble material limit the amount of topsoil, regardless of slope <br /> position or grade. Topsoil textures vary from sandy loams to silty <br />. clay loams and are suitable for establishment of a wide variety of <br /> grasses and shrubs. The area in which both mines and Oliver power <br /> plant are located presently supports a brush and shrub plant community. <br /> Cambels oak represents the dominant shrub while serviceberry, <br /> snowberry, chokecherry, and skunkbush are scattered throughout. <br /> Competition from the shrubs and from the dense overstory limits <br /> understory vegetation to sparse stands of Oregon grape, Kentucky <br /> bluegrass and various forb species. In the area of the Hawksnest <br /> and Oliver mines, the oakbrush occurs down to the river's edge. <br /> The more mesic conditions allow narrowleaf cottonwood, Russian <br /> olive, hawthorne, spruce, and willow to grow in small scattered <br /> clumps near the river. Annual air dry forage production from the <br /> site will vary from 1500 to 3000 pounds per acre. <br /> The Crystal Meadows area, not shown on the soils map, is composed <br /> of one mapping unit - Breece loam. The soil is primarily of alluvial <br /> origin and lays nearly flat. The surface is a loam (refer to soils <br /> description sheet) and the subsurface is sandy loam underlain by <br />• <br />