PERMFILE124517

• Permit No: C1980003
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 12/11/2001
• Doc Name: Land Use Analysis for the Proposed HG Mine
• Section_Exhibit Name: APPENDIX B
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

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the study area and estimated forage production. Plate
I-2 illustrates the location of a Brushy Loam, Deep .Loam,
Loa*ny Slopes, Brushy Loam Comple:s, Deep Clay Loam, Mountain
Loam range sites. Table 1 gives the estimated forage
production for each of these range sites.
Forage plant species preferences of herbivores and
the total estimated forage production per range site type
were used to predict the carrying capacity in Animal Unit
Months (ALTbi)* per acre for cattle, sheep, mule deer, and
elk (see Table 2). For example, a one acre Bushy Loam
slope range site would not provide enough total forage
during the entire growing season for one cow for one month,
but would support approximately three sheep, or one and
one-half elk, or approximately two and one-half mule deer
for one month.
The acreage of each range site type in the mine site
was determined to calculate the carrying capacities of the
four herbivores at the mine site. The major mining acti-
vities (mine pit, topsoil and overburden storage) would
affect approximately 474 total acres. Range site composition
of these affected acres are: 274 acres of Brushy Loam;
54 acres of Deep Loam; and 146 acres of Loany Slope/Brushy
Loam Complex. Ancillary mining activities (haul roads, '
settling ponds, explosives storage and mine facilities
buildings) would affect an additional 133 Acres of Brushy
Loam, Deep Loam, Deep Clay Loam and Mountain Loam range
site types but the exact acreage for each type is unavail-
able. Range site carrying capacity data from Table 2 and
the acreages of each range site in the mining area were
used to calculate the herbivores (cattle, sheep, elk, and
deer) carrying capacity of the proposed mine area. These
calculations, presented in Table 3, are an indication of
the relative values these range sites have for domestic
and wildlife rangeland land use. For example, 123 cattle
or 795 sheep, or 630 mule deer, or 411 elk could be grazed
for only one month on the forage produced during the entire
growing season on the 274-acre Brushy Loam range site. The
other range site types can be interpreted in a similar
manner.

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*An Animal Unit Month (AUM) is the productivity recurred
to sustain one animal unit for ore month where an animal
unit in western rangeland equals about 1 cow or 5 sheen.
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