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Much of the study area consists of upland agricultural fields and grazing lands. <br />Livestock grazing is the major land use on the Rittenhouse, Norden, Anderson and the <br />southeast parcel of the D & Mining property. Vegetable and crop production is the major use <br />on the Chikuma, Myrna and MFM Farm properties. The McWilliams property has been used <br />for crop production in the past, but currently the fields on this site are fallow. The southwest <br />parcel of the D & S Mining property has been used for aggregate production. The northern <br />parcel of the D & Mining property has apparently been used in the past for livestock grazing, <br />however no grazing was noted in 2004. Most study area consists of upland areas with wetlands <br />occurring primarily along the drainages and major irrigafion ditches. <br />The extent and character of wetland areas along with wetland maps and photographs <br />are described separately in following sections of the report. The order in which the properties <br />are described begins with the southern properties and continues northward. <br />METHODS <br />Wetlands were delineated using a combination of air photo interpretation and field <br />checking. Aerial photo base maps at a scale of 1 inch equals 200 feet (approximately) were used <br />to evaluate the location of wetland areas within the study area. These areas were visited in the <br />field and were evaluated relative to wetland status using the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers <br />(1987) wetland delineation manual. Boundaries of delineated wetlands were drawn on the <br />aerial photo base maps. Some upland areas on the sites were also mapped as a means of <br />clarifying the extent of wetlands. <br />The indicator status for wetland species has been developed by the U.S. Fish and <br />Wildlife Service, and a specific publication for Region 5 (which includes the portion of Colorado <br />where the study was conducted) is available (Reed 1988). Reed was used as the basis for <br />categorizing the plant species observed in the wetland areas relative to their indicator status. In <br />cases where species were not listed in Reed (1988), wetland indicator status was assigned on the <br />basis of how the species tend to grow within the region. These assignments were based on the <br />experience of the author of this report (These species are marked with an asterisk in the tabular <br />summaries of observed species). Specifically the status categories include the following: <br />Obligate Wetland Species: Occur almost always (estimated probability >99 percent) <br />under natural conditions in wetlands. <br />Facultative Wetland Species: Usually occur in wetlands (estimated probability 67-99 <br />percent), but occasionally found in non-wetlands. <br />Facultative Species: Equally likely to occur in wetlands or non-wetlands (estimated <br />probability 34-66 percent). <br />Facultative Upland Species: Usually occur in non-wetlands (estimated probabIlity <br />67-99 percent, but occasionally found in wetlands (estimated probability 1-33 <br />percent). <br />-4- <br />