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2.04.3 <br />• (b)(ii) The permit area can be broken down into the <br />following two vegetation types; Semidesert Sandyloam and Pinyon- <br />Juniper Woodland. According to a Soils Conservation Service <br />vegetation survey of the area the estimated annual productivity <br />of the Semidesert Sandy Loam is 700 pounds per acre and the Pin- <br />yon-Juniper is 100 to 500 pounds per acre. <br />(3) The proposed permit area has never been mined. <br />(4) Montrose County does not have any specific land use <br />classifications. The current existing land use is both rangeland <br />and wildlife habitat. Rangeland is land on which plant cover is <br />principally valuable for forage. Wildlife habitat is land used <br />wholly or partially in the production, protection or management <br />of a species of wildlife. <br />The permit area is only a small portion of the total <br />area that is utilized for winter range for cattle. About 18,000 <br />acres in the area is used from the 15th of November to the 1st of <br />May each year to support about 250 head of cattle. This 18,000 <br />acre area is bounded by Broad Canyon to the east and Bramiers <br />Draw to the west. The cows are rotated to three different areas <br />during the winter to regulate the intensity of grazing. The cows <br />are fed a protein supplement sll winter and are fed some hay just <br />before and during calfing. <br />• The actual permit area and adjacent area is utilized <br />for cattle range from January 1st through April 1st of each year. <br />This area, because of its exposure and elevation, has the least <br />severe weather of any of the range areas. For this reason it is <br />utilized during the most severe winter months. <br />The entire area, including the permit and adjacent <br />area, is extensively utilized by deer for winter range from late <br />fall to early spring of each year. Some elk also utilize the <br />area but not as extensively as the deer. <br />• 2.04-2 May 1991 <br />