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Serviceberry and chokecherry plants are shorter in stature, thus providing dis- <br />cernible strata of ground cover, i.e. sage-snowberry, Serviceberry-chokecherry, <br />and finally oak. <br />The vigor, denseness, and species crnnposition of the ground cover within the pro- <br />posed mine plan area vary, dependent in part upon past grazing intensity. In <br />general, the species composition and coverage of the original ground vegetation <br />on the Williams Fork Mountains have been modified by intensive sheep grazing and, <br />to a lesser extent, cattle. Rangelands have been further altered in some areas <br />by efforts to eradicate sagebrush. <br />Throughout the area, a mosaic distribution of vegetative types is noticeable, <br />indicative of these past and continuing disruptions. Grass species encountered <br />most frequently are: western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii), prairie Junegrass <br />(Koeleria cristata), mutton grass (Poa fendleriana) and Columbia needlegrass <br />(Stipa Columbiana). Forb species, such as violet (Viola sp.), cinquefoil (Poten- <br />tilla sp.), dunal (Grindelia squarrosa), paintbrush (Castilleja sp.), and lupine <br />• (Copious spp.), bloom in this understory at different times through the summer. <br />At lower elevations the interspersion of sagebrush and Serviceberry-chokecherry <br />diminishes until only stands of sagebrush, rabbi[brush, various grasses and herb- <br />aceous species occur. Throughout much of Moffat County, sagebrush on relatively <br />flat lands has been burned or mechanically removed for raising dryland wheat. In <br />the proposed mine plan area, this practice has occurred to the areas along the <br />west and north boundaries. The steeper and more tugged terrain, inappropriate <br />for cultivation, remains as rangeland. <br />The steep, dry, south-facing slopes of Ute and Castor gulches which drain to the <br />south off the Williams Fork Mountains from the southern perimeter of [he proposed <br />mine plan area support scanty ground cover and scattered Serviceberry, mountain <br />mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus), rabbitbrush and sagebrush. In many portions of <br />these steep cuts, Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) is found. Actual ground <br />surveys indicate there is little or nu pinyon pine (Pious edulis) even though the <br />Soil Conservation Service (SC S) has designated portions of Sections 4 and 5 of <br /> <br />2-59 <br />(~~8~ FEB 13 '87 <br />