1987-12-01_PERMIT FILE - C1981017 (245)

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• No plants observed are included in state or federal lists of threatened or endangered species. Weber and Johnston (1979) list the Northern Bog Orchid L%mnv,zchi, hcypez&ozea as "endangered." However, they have applied this status to all orchids, and their listing is not official . 3.3 Description of Reference Areas The plant ecology of each reference area is described in the following subsections. 3.3.1 Aspen Woodland The Aspen Woodland reference area was established at 9,200 f't on a south—facing area with an average slope of about 30 percent . This reference area contained twenty—five species in three distinct layers; total cover was 91 percent . The tree overstory consisted almost entirely of Ouaking Aspen, which averaged 9 m tall , provided 75 percent cover, was present in 100 percent of the samples, and had a total density of 2,334 trees per hectare. Shrubs added less than 2 percent cover, with Mountain Snowberry dominant . Shrubs averaged 52 cm tall and 6,997 individuals per hectare. The herbaceous under— story was dominated by Elk Sedge (4.7 percent cover, 53 percent frequency) , • and Blue Wildrye (2.7 percent cover , 40 percent frequency) ; prominent (orbs included Whiteflower Peavine, Porter Lovage, and Bracken Fern. Total her cover was 12 percent. Total production in this reference area was 65.0 g/m2, with forbs providing 59 percent . The most productive individual species were Elk Sedge (18.2 g/m2) , Bracken Fern (13.1 g/m21 , Blue Wildrye (7.8 g/m2) , and Whiteflower Peavine (7.1 g/m2) . Cover, production, and woody plant data for the Aspen Woodland reference area are presented in Tables 11, 12, and 13. The exact location is shown in Figure 2. 3.3.2 Aspen Shrubland The reference area for this sampling unit was located on a 40 percent , south—facing slope at an elevation of about 8,60C ft (Figure 2 ) . Total cover of 93 percent was distributed among seventeen species. The reference area had a tree layer dominated by both Quaking Aspen (17 percent cover , 53 percent frequency) and Gambel Oak (38 percent cover , SO percent frequency ) . Shrubs provided an additional 17 percent cover; prevalent species were Serviceberry and Chokecherry. Average height was 145 cm, and average density was 30,329 shrubs per hectare. important erbaceous SueCIeS included Eik Sedae (14 percent cover , 73 percent frequency) , • Blue `,Vildrye, Thurber Fescue, and Native Bluegrass. Total herbaceous cover was 20 percent . —16—