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<br />reclaimed areas on both sides of the easUwest county road and south of Mining Area 1. The <br />cover and frequency data collected (see Appendix 22-1, Table 2 'Cover and Frequency <br />Summary for Areas ReGaimed South of Mining Area 1 (5W Pits) - Nucla Mine, 1988) shows the <br />warm season grass component to be insignificant in the revegetated stands. The average <br />vegetative cover was 11.6 percent, with ground cover (vegetation and litter) at 36.9 percent. No <br />warm season grasses occurred in the 15 samples taken. An intensive search in the reclaimed <br />areas for incidental speces noted the very ocassional occurrence of sand dropseed, blue grams, <br />and alkali sacaton. Sand dropseed was the most common of the:three and alkali sacaton only <br />occurred adjacent to a drainage which receives supplemental moisture. Seasonal variety is <br />related to quality of forage and availability of forage throughout the growing season. Review of <br />Seed Mix #1 shows that eight grasses of varying palatability and nutrient qualities are to be <br />established with one legume (alfalfa), one forb (small bumet), one subshrub (winterfat), and one <br />shrub (fourwing saltbush). The last four species were included in the mix for their palatability, <br />nutrient qualities, and enhancement of the overall forage quality in a stand with grasses. Both <br />alfalfa and fourwing saltbush aze warm season species. In addition, one warm season grass, <br />sand dropseed, has been included in Seed Mix #1, as has alkali. sacaton_in_Seed. Mix #2. ; <br />Local land use and grazing pattems in the Nucla area result in livestock utilization of lower <br />elevation areas (i.e., the Nucla area) during the fall, winter, and early spring. Livestock are <br />moved to BlJvl and Forest Service allotments beginning in the spring and extending through the <br />summer and early fall. The pattern is to graze progressively higher elevations as the grazing <br />season extends through the summer. Thus, grazing does not generally occur (there may be <br />some small operator exceptions) in the Nucla area during the summer, resulting in a low <br />requirement for the warm season grass component in overall forage composition and utilization. <br />The cool season grass component can provide early spring green-up, tall regrowth, and standing <br />"hay" forage in the winter. Thus, the reduction in seasonal variety will be mitigated by the type of <br />established vegetation from the seed mix, local crazing pattems and the seasons grazed in the <br />Nucla azea. <br />Woo y Plant Density. As described earlier, a. large proportion of the existing permit area has <br />been disturbed either by agricultural or mining activities prior to implementation of the permanent <br />regulatory program. In addition, the proposed postmining land use is dryland pasture or <br />rangeland. While one subshrub (winterfat) and one shrub (fourwing saltbush) are included in the <br />rangeland seed mix to mitigate the loss of premining woody plant densities, achievement of <br />premining densities found in the upland sagebrush affected or reference areas is not practical or <br />desirable for the postmining land uses. Furthermore, the reclaimed topography is generally a <br />south or west facing aspect which provides poor sites for the planting of shrub seedlings. The <br />very dry climate of the area further compounds the problem. Exhibit 22-1, "Postmine Vegetation <br />Map -New Horizon 1 Mine", illustrates those areas that will provide the best planting sites for <br />22-13 <br />