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2.3.2 General Description of Range Sites <br />Lands within the proposed mine plan area total approximately 11,912 acres. Of <br />this total, 1,841 acres were utilized as cropland (dryland farming) before <br />mining. To date, 306 acres have been disturbed and reclaimed back to agricul- <br />tural use (permanent vegetation). <br />The description of the vegetation within the proposed mine plan area is based on <br />data collected in 1979 and 1980, and information obtained from the Plant Informa- <br />tion Network (PIN), a computer listing service available through Colorado State <br />University that provides information on individual plant species (Colorado State <br />University, 1977). <br />In 1978, a baseline vegetation sampling study was started to quantify Che flora <br />naturally occurring within the area of probable disturbance and to optimize samp- <br />ling procedures. The parameters included cover, production and shrub density. <br />The first year of intensive baseline vegetation sampling started in 1979 and has <br />continued through 1985. <br />• <br />Within the proposed mine plan area, four distinct vegetation types potentially <br />occur under natural conditions, i.e., mountain shrub, sagebrush-grass, pinvon- <br />juniper, and aspen. The pinyon-juniper type is found on the extreme south-west <br />portion of the proposed mine plan area along the steep south facing slopes of the <br />Williams Fork Mountains (refer to Map M16). This type comprises only .9 percent <br />of the total land surface within the proposed mine plan area boundary. Aspen <br />pockets occur along the uppe[ portion of the Williams Fork Mountains on the east- <br />ern must portions of the proposed mine plan area., These pockets are few in num- <br />ber and range in size from 1-5 acres. Neither of these two vegetation types are <br />expected to be impacted by mining or reclamation activities during the proposed <br />permit life. <br />The remaining two types, mountain shrub and big sagebrush grass, will be impacted <br />by mining and reclamation activities. According to the State of Colorado Mined <br />Land Reclamation Division's regulations and baseline data compiled in 1979-1980, <br />both types are categorized as shtublands (Table 2.3.9). <br /> <br />2-93 <br />~RflS~® FEB 13 'B7 <br />