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C• dividing Dry and Sage Creeks and at lower elevations along gullies and streams. About 4 <br /> percent (53 acres) of the mine permit area is occupied by the Aspen type. Sites on which <br /> quaking aspen stands occur are typically north to northwes t-facing slopes and drainages <br /> (Exhibit 10-1, Figures 10-1 and 10-2). Aspen trees are 20 to 40 fee t (7 to 13 m) tall, <br />Aspen trees dominated the vegetation cover with over half the total absolute vegetation <br />cover; of total vegetation cover considering all strata (i.e., all hits relative cover), <br />aspen comprised about one-fourth. Shrubs were the next most abundant life form With about <br />20 percent of the vegetation cover. The species providing greatest cover were Saskatoon <br />servicebe rry and mountain snowberry. Perennial graminoi ds were moderately well developed, <br />totalling about 8 percent of first hit cover and 13 percent of all hit cover. The most <br />conspicuous were fringed brome (Bromopsis ciliata), blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus), and <br />Kentucky bluegrass (Poo bra tennis). Perennial forbs were nearly as abundant as shrubs, <br />with about 17 percent of first hit cover and nearly one-third of the cover of all strata. <br />Most prominent among the perennial forbs were western yarrow (AChillea millefolium ssp. <br />lanulosa), ne ttleleaf gianthyssop (Agastache urticifolia), Fendler waterleaf (Mydroohvllum <br />fendleri), mountain blue bells (Mertensia ciliata), spreading sweetroot (Osmorhi za <br />. chi lensis), anise sweetroot (0 smorhiza occidentalis), cutleaf coneflower (Rudbe ckia <br />\ laciniata), and tall stemmed white violet (Viola rugulosa). The annual and biennial forbs <br />provided a small cover, only about 4 percent of the vegetation cover. The only abundant <br />annual forb was common hou ndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale). Total vegetation cover in <br />the affected area was about 95 percent. Herbaceous species comprise slightly over half of <br />all cover when all strata were considered together (all hits data). <br />!n the original Aspen Woodland reference area, the pattern is very similar except shrub <br />cover is greater, and herbaceous cover (graminoids and forbs) is less. <br />As can be seen in Table 2-9, the density of shrubs in the affected area was quite <br />2 ? <br />variable, ranging from 15 stems per 50 m to 121 per 50 m among the 30 affected area <br />sample stands. The reference area stand (Table 2-10} is in the middle to upper end of <br />this range of density. Overall, the woody plant density of the Aspen 1+'oodland rc(c rr nee <br />area was markedly greater than that of the affect r•d arra. (dearly all the major ahrub <br />species, except mountain snrnvh er ry, were more abundant than in the affected area. <br />. In tho affected arra, the ma for ~•h rub in terns of density was, by far, mountain snnwh crry, <br />In the reference oleo, nnu n!ain •. n,uvbrrrV ~~•~> nrarly us dcn5r. a•, the uticU rd arra Uu[ <br />17 <br />