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~ iii iiiiiiiiiiiu iii <br /> s>J <br />' EXHIBIT J VEGETATION <br />~ ~g <br /> ~l <br />/ <br /> <br /> J.1 General Conditions <br /> The vegetation of the project area reflects the topographic <br />' transition from the dry alluvial flats and outwash fans of the <br /> southern San Luis Valley to the steeper western foothills and <br />' mountain slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range. The alluvial <br /> valley and flats have a sagebrush, shrub-type vegetation that grades <br />' into pinyon juniper forests on the lower ridges and southern-facing <br /> foothills. The protected northern slopes and moist canyons have a <br /> mixed coniferous forest dominated by Douglas fir and ponderosa pine. <br />' A riparian type vegetation occurs along the narrow floodplain of Rito <br /> Seco Creek. <br /> <br /> Land use and resource development have had some effects on the <br />' vegetation in the project area. The principal past and present uses <br /> affecting vegetation have been livestock grazing and wood cutting. <br /> Other minor uses have been management of the streams for irrigation, <br /> mining. and exploration, and recent subdivision development. The main <br /> effect on the vegetation in the project area has been the cutting <br />' and clearing of vegetation for firewood, roads, plot development, <br /> and mineral exploration. Past grazing may have reduced the grass <br />' cover and increased shrubs in all of the vegetation types, along with <br /> causing some erosion and stream cutting. <br />The project site supports four main vegetation types: (1) the <br />' sagebrush shrub, (2) the pinyon juniper woodland, (3) the montane <br />coniferous forest, and (4) the riparian vegetation complex. Mixtures <br />' and transition zones between these vegetation types are common in <br />the project area. Figure J-1 is a map of the vegetation types on the <br />project site. The two most common vegetation types are the sagebrush <br />' shrub which occurs on approximately 60 percent of the proposed <br />project area and the pinyon juniper woodland, occurring on about 25 <br />percent of the site. The flora of this area is typical of the valley <br />and foothill zones of Colorado's Front Range. Table J.]-1 is a list <br />J <br /> <br />