GENERAL32961

• Permit No: M1999002
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 8/18/1998
• Doc Name: COMMERCIAL MINE PLAN SUBMITTED TO BLM SECTION 7
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

• The Pinyon-Juniper Association occurs on a wide range of soils, elevations, and
exposures and is limited primarily by semi-arid or cool-mesic climatic conditions
and saline-alkaline soils. This community dominates upland hillsides at the
Piceance Site, occurring primarily on Rentsac channery sandy loam soils. The
minor areas of Redcreek-Rentsac complex soils that occur on the leases also support
the Pinyon-Juniper Association.
Chained Pinyon-Juniper Community
The Chained Pinyon-Juniper community is a result of vegetation manipulation
performed at the Piceance Site in 1965. Dominant vegetation includes Indian
ricegrass, bluebunch wheatgrass, needlegrass, and bluegrasses, with scattered small
pinyons and junipers.
Sagebrush Association (Rolling Loaml
The Sagebrush Association is usually an open stand of big sagebrush with an
understory of grasses, including western wheatgrass, bluebunch wheatgrass,
needlegrass, and Indian ricegrass. Common shrubs include gray horsebrush, low
rabbitbrush, and winterfat. Utah juniper commonly occurs in drainages where
moisture is available. The overstory varies from open to completely closed, with
understory species diversity and density inversely related to overstory closure.
• The Sagebrush Association is influenced by many interacting and independent
ecological factors including climate, soils, topography, fire history, and grazing
history. This community dominates the relatively level, most-upland areas at the
Piceance Site on Yamac loam soils. It also occupies north-facing slopes of the upper
reaches of most of the dry, ephemeral drainages to Piceance Creek, where is occurs
on Torriorthents-Rockoutcrop complex soils.
Barren/Rock Outcrop Association (Dry.Exposure)
Barren lands are those areas such as barren rock, erosion pavements, rock outcrops,
cliffs, and talus slopes that have little or no vegetation. The Barren/Rock Outcrop
Association is characterized by a "bald" appearance due to the absence of trees and
large shrubs. What vegetation there is is dominated by grasses and cushion-type
forbs. Important grasses include bluebunch wheatgrass, streambank wheatgrass,
needle-and-thread, junegrass, Indian ricegrass, and blue grams. Cushion-type forbs
include buckwheat, daisy, phlox, globe mallow, pussytoes, and nailwort, and
associated low shrubs are fringed sage and low rabbitbrush.
At the Piceance Site, this community dominates the south-facing slopes of the dry,
ephemeral drainages to Piceance Creek, occurring on Torriorthents-Rockoutcrop
complex soils. The rare, endemic plant species that exist in the vicinity of the
. project occur in the Barren/Rock Outcrop Association (see Section 7.9.1).
American Soda, L.L.P. 7-33
Commercial Mine Plan
August 18, 1998