2006-04-06_PERMIT FILE - M2006034

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Specific vegetation and soil, site descriptions The topography in which these four claims are situated is high relief with draws and ridges falling to the northeast from a larger ridge which runs generally northwest. Elevation drops from about 8,900 feet to 8,500 feet over 1/3 mile distance. The ridge tops to the south, end in large boulders and rock outcrops. The lower ridges towazds Crystal Creek aze gentle pediments with deep gravel. Deep draws aze cut between the hill crests, however, most show little or no current erosion. Before the fire, these claims were heavily timbered with ponderosa pine and douglas fir. Understory consisted of common creeping juniper and kinnikinnick. A few aspens were scattered throughout the azea, predominantly in the draws and along the lower slopes. Avery few mountain mahogany were highly scattered on the more easterly facing slopes. Fully 90% of the timber on these sites was under 6 inches in diameter. A few ponderosa pines, particulazly on Sites, A, B, C, and E ranged up to 12 inches in diameter. The timber on Sites A, B, C, and E was largely spared from the fire. Much of the remaining timber was destroyed. Flora and fauna in this region is not highly diverse. This is characteristic of granitic soils which underlay climax coniferous forests. Most of the proposed dig sites aze gravel hillsides with very spazse vegetation, a few bunch gasses and conifers being the predominant plants. These areas have been heavily hand-dug by prior field collectors and aze covered extensively with small pits and trenches. Some of the dig sites exhibit over 80% disturbance. Several trees had been undercut by hand digging and had come down prior to the fue. Some of the dirt piles and excavations had begun to re-grow as Band digging ceased when the field collectors were no longer able to dig sufficiently deep to reach unexposed cavities. Even though the proposed excavation sites are relatively small, our reclamation efforts will include re- foresting those areas which had timber prior to the fire. Additionally, we will reclaim most of the hand-dug areas by re-grading and reseeding. Since the fire, as of fa112005, many of the aspens have sprouted from the roots and are now 3 to 4 feet tall. Growth is thick, particularly neaz sites F and G. The few mountain mahogany have also sprouted from the>r roots and are recovering. Sites A, B, and C are generally open grassy sites with highly scattered ponderosa pines. Most of the mountain mahogany also occurs on these sites. Site D is in a heavily timbered azea which was heavily burned. About 95 percent of the timber was less than 6 inches in diameter. About 20 percent of the timber survived. The soil is shallow and heavily hand dug. Bunch grasses compose the bulk of the understory. Sites E and H were previously excavated using mechanized equipment. Site E was mazginally reclaimed and shows little or no re-growth. Site H was properly reclaimed and has good vegetation, mostly grasses.