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• orchards by the local population today, but for all practical purposes, they are no longer <br />harvested. In many cases, they are fenced, but livestock are periodically allowed access to <br />use the forage in the understory, as evidenced by the "high lined" lower tree canopy and <br />grazed condition of the understory plants. Several operators complained of livestock health or <br />digestive problems because of ingestion of apples. The understory is predominated by <br />herbaceous species such as quackgrass, plantains, and dandelion. <br />Facilities were identified as farm support areas if they were located away from farmsteads. <br />These included animal handling pens, stockyards, silage pits, and equipment storage or <br />boneyard areas. These areas are dominated by weedy annual and perennial species. <br />Disturbed areas, a rather self descriptive term, included areas with heavy animal <br />concentrations, mechanical disturbance due to equipment operation, trash dumps, and waste <br />ground associated with various agricultural and support activities (Figure 4-10, Peabody <br />Appendix 10-4.) <br />Ponds and irrigation ditches of various capacities are scattered throughout the study area. A <br />• large lateral ditch (West Lateral) runs through the western half of the study area, however <br />several smaller lateral ditches deliver water to the various irrigated fields, pastures and hay <br />fields in the study and permit area (see Section 2.04.7, Hydrology Description). The vegetation <br />in or near these ditches is dominated by many of the species that occur in the Swale and <br />irrigation pasture vegetation types. Cottonwoods, boxelder (Ater negundo), and willows are <br />prominent components of the vegetation associated with these ditches, while the dense cover <br />of graminoid and occasional forb species protect the banks of the ditches from erosion. A total <br />of 17 ponds, 4 of which are in poor repair, occur within the study area. Five of these ponds <br />occur within the permit area. Ponds are maintained to catch irrigation and storm runoff water <br />for livestock use. All operators stated that the ponds were not associated with any irrigation <br />systems or water storage for that purpose. The vegetation around these ponds is similar to <br />that found in the Swale type and along the irrigation ditches. Pond weeds found during 1987 <br />include water milloil (Myriophyllum sibiricum), pondweed (Potomogeton graminifolius) and <br />horned pondweed (Zannichellia palustria). <br />(REVISED 9/99) 2.04.10 - 53 <br />• <br />