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• 1.0 FLORA <br />1.1 Introduction <br />The Williams Fork Mountains located in northwest <br />Colorado in Routt County extend east-west for approximately <br />25 miles and form the divide between the Yampa and Williams <br />Fork Rivers. These mountains gradually rise about 1,500 <br />feet above the surrounding terrain. Only a few peaks in the <br />range are above 8,000 feet in elevation. The surficial <br />geologic strata deposited during Upper Cretaceous time are <br />composed of sandstones, shale and coal beds. <br />I The soils, climate, altitude, topographic variability, <br />aspects and present and past land uses create a complex <br />mosaic of plant communities. Moisture is the dominant <br />factor controlling the distribution of these communities <br />(James 6 Marr, 1966). <br />Plant communities characteristic to these lower <br />montain mountains include: aspen, Populus tremuloides; <br />oak, Quercus gambelii; small isolated stands of Douglas <br />fir, Pseudotsuga menaiesii; sparse patches of subalpine <br />fir, Abies Zasiocarpa; and numerous floristically diverse <br />.shrub communities. Several shrub species generally <br />• characterize a community, as integradations of shrub <br />species are most common. Shrubs present in the area <br />include: serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia; several <br />sagebrush species, Artemisia spp.; mountain mohagany, <br />Cercocarpus montanus; rabbitbrush, Chrysothamnus nauseosus, <br />Chrysothamnus parryi, and Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus; <br />chokecherry, Prunus virginiana; bitterbrush, Purshia <br />~ tridentata; gooseberry, Ribes inerme; wild rose, Rosa <br />~- woodsii; and snowberry, Symphoricarpos oreophiZus. Juniper, <br />Juniperus osteosperma, Pinyon pine, Pinus edulus, are also <br />found dispersed throughout the shrub communities. <br />The study site* (approximately 600 acres) is located <br />approximately 12 miles south of Hayden in the Williams Fork <br />Mountains. The elevation of the site ranges from approxi- <br />` mately 7,900 to 7,800 feet. The major portion of the area <br />slopes to the north; however, minor ridges slope to the east <br />and west. The highest portion of the area consists of two <br />exposed ridges with steep slopes to the south and west. <br />* The study site is defined as that area potentially <br />affected by surface mining. <br />L <br />-1- <br />... <br />