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EXHIBIT J (Cont'd) <br />VEGETATION INFORh9ATI0N <br />The site for the proposed Sievers Pit expansion is a very <br />interesting mixture of very disturbed rangeland and old cultivated <br />fields that have been subsequently disturbed by grazing after having <br />been seeded with range species. <br />There are four basic communities represented at the site not <br />including the scattered tree growth along the Robertson Ditch. <br />Each community shows a relationship to the existing soils, not <br />because of the soil itself but the fact that the deeper soils were <br />able to be cultivated to some extent and the upland, shallow soils <br />were too rocky for cultivation. The four communities are as follows: <br />1. Irrigated Poa-Phleum-Trifolium Community - This is by <br />far the lushest and least common community on the site. <br />It occurs on wet, deep, fairly heavy soils near where <br />1 irrigation water is abundant enough to keep the soil <br />damp. Topographically, it is favored by low spots and <br />shallow hollows, but only where drainage does not readily <br />occur. The primary species include Poa sp., Bromus inermis, <br />Phleum pratense, Trifolium repens, and some Taraxacum <br />officionale. It is apparent the community is composed <br />of introduced, seeded species. This community, more than <br />1 the others, demonstrates quite well what can be done with <br />1 the land if sufficient water is supplied. Cover in the <br />community is 100+ro, and the height is generally 18 to <br />1 24 inches. <br />A variant of this community occurs on the slightly more <br />sandy and xeric sites. The variant still exhibits about <br />100% cover, but the Trifolium becomes less common and the <br />Taraxacum exhibits dramatic increases. In all other <br />respects the variant is identical to the primary community. <br />2. Dryland Alfalfa-Taraxacum Pasture - This community consti- <br />tutes approximately 95% of the area on the southeast end <br />of the proposed mine area. It is characterized by severly <br />compacted soils and a nearly uniform but very sparse and <br />unproductive vegetation. The degraded condition is <br />primarily due to the use of the area for cattle feeding <br />during the winter. <br />Much loose hay lies about the area and serves as an <br />excellent demonstration of the need for mulch on these <br />porous soils. Although there is little vegetation growing <br />in and around the mulched areas due to the intensive <br />- 27 - <br />