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No rare, threatened, or endangered plant speces have been ident~ed on <br />or proximal to the Permit Area(s) or the Gold Hill area in general. The <br />existing vegetation has been Gassif~ed as a confferous forest consisting <br />of mixed cone-bearing trees of the pine family including various species <br />of pines (pinusj, spruces (picea}, and Douglas fir (pseudotsuga}. These <br />trees are resinous evergreens, with a straight axis and a narrow crown <br />and are characteristically present in acidic soils, often sprouting after fire. <br />The coniferous forest is widespread and extensive throughout the general <br />area, and can be found at elevations between 6,000 and 10,000 feet. It <br />encompasses the lower and upper montane zones, and includes <br />Lodgepole and Ponderosa pine. Engelmann and Blue spruce, Douglas <br />fir, and thickets of broad-leaved trees (i.e., aspen) and shrubs along <br />streambanks. These zones are often referred to as the transitional zone <br />between the foothill and sub-alpine zones. These zones overlap and <br />telescope into each other, and one zone may be present on a south slope <br />while another will be found across the valley on the opposite (north) slope <br />at the same elevation. Plants that are characteristically found in one zone <br />can sometimes be found in favorable areas in the neighboring zone <br />above or below their usual habitat. <br />Douglas fir, Lodgepole pine, and Engelmann spruce are found at higher <br />elevations, while Ponderosa pine are generally found at lower elevations <br />scattered in stands of pure and mixed trees. Douglas fir is considered the <br />Gimax or original forest type present in this area before the boom days of <br />mining in the 1800s, when the trees were either extensively cut or <br />destroyed by forest fire. The present stands of Ponderosa and Lodgepole <br />pine as well as the Engelmann spruce generally came in after 1900. <br />Limber pine and Blue spruce are also present as isolated trees or in small <br />stands. Scattered Rocky Mountain juniper and Quaking aspen can be <br />found in the area between the Hazel A adit and the Cash and Who Do <br />Mines. Quaking aspen, Narrowleaf cottonwood, Mountain alder, and <br />Rocky Mountain maple are found in Cash, McKnight (Black Cloud), and <br />Aikens (Lick Skillet) Gulches, as well as along Gold Run Creek. <br />In addition to the trees found in the Gold Hill area, various species of <br />grasses are present, incuding Slender Wheat-grass, Mountain Muhly, <br />Pony Oat-grass, and Thurber fescue. A listing of the native vegetative <br />species -grasses, forts, and shrubs -known to exist in the Gold Hill <br />area is contained within the Pennft No. M-83-141 file. The present <br />surface vegetation at or near the Cash and Who Do Mine Project areas <br />that have been or will be affected by mining activity is generally very <br />limited and sparse, primarily due to the poorly developed soil profile. <br />However, relatively undisturbed areas between the individual mine <br />features generally exhibit on the order of 60% to 70°k vegetative cover on <br />south facing slopes. <br />Initial development of the Mount Royale No. 1 Adit required the removal <br />of a limited quantity of trees (primarily Ponderosa pine) in the area now <br />occupied by or immediately surrounding the adit and waste rock dump <br />features. <br />F~chiblt B -She DescNpHon <br />