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RULE 2 PERMITS <br />For further details on soil/moisture relationships in determining the aspen vegetation community refer to <br />Figure 2.04.10-1, Environmental Gradient/Plant Tolerance Graph. <br />Riparian Community <br />Within the permit area the riparian community is very limited. The community is confined to areas along <br />Good Spring Creek and Taylor Creek. <br />The community is characterized by a very limited overstory of a few isolated cottonwoods (Populus <br />angustifolia), and boxelder trees (Aver negundo). Understory vegetation includes Wood's rose (Rosa <br />woodsii), willows (Salix spp.), rushes (Juncus spp.), sedges (Carex spp.), and cattails (Typha spp.). <br />The riparian community is found along the drainage bottoms where soil moisture is abundant throughout <br />the growing season. Soil texture ranges from fine clay to coarse, sandy loam soils. Elements of the <br />sagebrush and mountain shrub communities are soon encountered adjacent to the riparian community <br />where plant available moisture begins to decrease. For further details on Soil/Moisture relationships in <br />determining the riparian vegetation community refer to Figure 2.04.10-1, Environmental Gradient/Plant <br />Tolerance Graph. <br />Grassland Community <br />Within the permit area, the grassland community covers a very limited area. Small, isolated patches of <br />almost exclusively western wheatgrass growing on heavy clay soils are scattered in the middle elevations <br />of the southern part of the permit area. The community is of such limited extend (+/- 30 acres) that only <br />mention of occurrence is contained here. <br />Cropland <br />Within the north end of the permit area a few areas of cropland are encountered at the southern edge of <br />Axial Basin. The previous landowners removed the sagebrush and cultivated the land for winter wheat <br />production. <br />The soils are primarily a clay loam texture on a flat to rolling topography. The area surrounding the <br />croplands incorporates elements of the sagebrush community encountered throughout the rest of the <br />permit area. <br />Rare and Endangered Plant Species <br />To date, vegetation surveys in the area conducted by numerous governmental agencies, private <br />consultants, and Colowyo have failed to discover, or have indicated a potential occurrence of, any rare <br />and endangered plant species within the permit area. Therefore, it is anticipated that there will be no <br />potential for impacts. <br />During the 1997 Permit Renewal process the Division requested an up-to-date consideration of the latest <br />(August 21, 1996) USFWS list of federal threatened and endangered (T&E) plant species. In particular <br />the Piceance twinpod, (Physaria obcordata). Graham beardtongue, (Pensteon ,grahamd , White River <br />beardtongue (Penstemon scariosus var. albi uzis ; Dudley Bluffs bladderpod (esauerella concresta) were <br />recently listed as either listed as threatened or considered for listing. Subsequent discussions with local <br />BLM officials confirmed that these species are endemic to areas along the White River and Piceance <br />Basin and would not occur in the Colowyo area. For a copy of the BLM correspondence please see <br />Exhibit 10 Vegetation Information. <br />Rule 2 Permits 2.04.10-5 Revision Date: 6/23/08 <br />Revision No.: MR-91