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II. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA <br />Sylvester Gulch is an ephemeral drainage trending north-south with a drainage area of <br />4.25 square miles. The drainage has a maximum elevation of 8290 feet and a <br />minimum elevation of 6070 feet. Channel length is 3.4 miles with an average gradient <br />of 12 percent. Sylvester Gulch drains the west flanks of the West Flatiron and drains <br />into the North Fork of the Gunnison River north of State Highway 133 immediately <br />east of the mine entrance road. There are four significant branches comprising <br />Sylvester Gulch. The drainage is sharply incised with steep tceslopes adjacent to a <br />narrow drainage bottom. The drainage bottom ranges from three feet at its narrowest <br />point to nearly 200 feet wide in areas with depositional terraces or at the confluence of <br />drainage branches. <br />Topography of the Sylvester Gulch drainage is best described as steep, rocky sideslopes <br />with occasional terraces above the drainage bottom formed by surficial mass movement <br />or alluvial deposition. Outcrops of sedimentary bedrock aze common above the <br />dtainage bottom along the sideslopes. <br />Soils of the Sylvester Gulch drainage reflect young soils with little horizon <br />development. Since slopes aze steep, annual precipitation low, and vegetation <br />• characterized by woody species of montane and xeric conditions, soils do not have <br />significantly developed organic horizons. The deepest and most well developed soils in <br />the Sylvester Gulch drainage are found on terraces above the drainage bottom which <br />have benefited from deposition of fine material from flow events and/or surficial <br />deposition from downslope surficial creep from sideslopes. <br />Vegetation communities present within the Sylvester Gulch drainage reflect adaptation <br />to the specific micrcenvironments within the drainage. Along the drainage bottom, <br />soils are deeper and more well developed, water availability greater, and solaz <br />insoladon is less intense. In these azeas, discontinuous riparian communities have <br />developed. On terraces above the drainage bottom, and along more moderate <br />sideslopes with north or northwest aspects, vegetation communities dominated by aspen <br />occur. Steep sideslopes with thin soil, intense solar radiation, and xeric conditions are <br />dominated by the oakbrush community. With increased elevation within the drainage <br />basin, and along moderate slopes with north and northwest aspects, a coniferous <br />Douglas fir community is found. Dry meadow herbaceous communities are found in <br />locations where anthropogenic disturbance is evident. Along the drainage, several <br />clearings were made by homesteading Euro-Americans. These clearings served as <br />pastures and small garden or crop plots. Abandoned, they have reverted to early sera] <br />stages of succession, dominated by graminoids and fortis. <br />Plans for the development of surface facilities in the lower Sylvester Gulch drainage <br />anticipate construction of transportation facilities along the lower 0.75 miles of the <br />-2- <br />