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3.0 VEGETATION <br />3.1 local Ecology <br />The Snowiness Mine is located approximately ten miles southwest of <br />Carbondale at an elevation of about 7,400 feet. The terrain encompassed <br />by the permit Brea is rough and mountainous. The entire Site is drained <br />by North Thompson Creek, a perennial stream flowing eastward. A steep, <br />south-facing slope occurs north of the stream. South of the stream the <br />permit area encompasses a narrow band along en access road up a steep <br />north-feting slope to an air fan. A small portion of another south-facing <br />slope is included in the permit area where the fan access road traverses <br />the tops of the ridge at 8,800 feet in elevation, end extends down slope <br />to the actual air fan location. <br />Climatic date is not available for the mine site. Therefore, data <br />from Aspen which is located 30 miles to the southeast at a similar elevation <br />17,907 feet) has been used to characterize the region. The mean annual <br />temperature is 40.5oF. Winters ere cold end the ground is generally snow <br />covered. The growing season is short, ranging from around 60 to 90 days. <br />Precipitation is rather uniform throughout the year with peeks in February <br />11.98 inches) and A.uqust i1.B9 inches). May, June, and July ere the driest <br />• months with a precipitation of 1.37, 1.31, and 1.42 inches, respectively.. <br />The project site is in the montane coniferous forest as described by <br />Shelford 119631 and Hylender 119661 and in a transition area between the <br />western spruce-fir forest and mountain mahogany-oak scrub communities as <br />mapped by Kuchler 119751. However, topographic variability combined with <br />soil differences end moisture gradients have produced numerous tlistinct <br />vegetation types at the project site. <br />Moisture es influenced by drainage, slope, aspect, and soil parent <br />material is the major factor influencing community evolution. A riparian <br />woodland has developed along the floodplain of North 'Thompson Creek in the <br />habitat with the most persistent Supply of water. The somewhnt less moist <br />north-facing slope has a broad moisture gradient from top to bottom. An <br />aspen forest dominates nigher elevations on these slopes end is gradually <br />replaced by a mountain shrubland at lower elevations es moisture becomes <br />limiting to aspen. A coniferous forest dominated by Douglas-fir Pa¢udvt.~uga <br />men~eni.i also occurs on this north-feting slope in shallow soil sites. <br />Douglas-fir appears to De climax to these hebitaTS. The very dry, south- <br />fecing slopes with a Mancos shale soil parenT materiel ere the driest habi- <br />tats on the project sire. A dry phase of the mountain shrubland occurs here. <br />Each of these vegetation types is described in the following sections. <br />Table 3.1-1 lists the acreage of each vegetation type in the permit Brea. <br /> <br />-7- <br />