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e <br />ESPEY, HUSTON &ASSOCIATES, INC. <br />• <br />within the community. Serviceberry occurs on the drier, shallow soil habitats, and <br />oak occurs on the moist, deeper soil sites. <br />Aspen stands occur on north slopes at the higher elevations as small <br />communities amid the mountain shrub community type in the high moisture habitats. <br />They typically occur in depressions at the head of drainages and in snow accumula- <br />tion sites. <br />A pinon-juniper (Pinus edulis-Juniperus spp.) community occurs on the <br />very dry southern slopes at the lowest elevation of the permit azea in localities <br />where the bedrock is often close to the surface. Soils in such habitats are coazse, <br />porous, very shallow, and often non-existent. <br />The mine plan azea historically has been used for grazing livestock. hs <br />recent yeazs sheep have been grazed during late summer. Some of the wet meadows <br />• aze mowed and the forage stored for winter livestock usage. Introduced grasses <br />have been planted in the flatter portion of a few of the drainage bottoms. These <br />fields aze used to produce hay or aze grazed by livestock. <br />The proposed resource development would directly affect only three of <br />the mine plan area plant community types. They include: meadow, big sagebrush <br />and mountain shrub. Each of these communities was quantitatively sampled for <br />vegetation cover, shrub density and above ground net productivity. The entire mine <br />plan azea, however, has been mapped. The following sections provide a discussion of <br />the results of the quantitative analysis. <br />Exhibit K-1 illustrates the plant community types on the proposed mine <br />plan azea and the azea to be affected by the intended development. Table K-1 <br />identifies the acreage of each plant community type in the proposed Mine Plan area <br />and in the area that would be directly affected. <br />• <br />K-12 <br />