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species to be separately reported). Sampling and - statistical methods will be fuller described in the <br />application. <br />2) The existing Greasewood Reference area will be expanded from the current triangular shape to a <br />more rectangular shape to better accommodate sampling. Sampling methods within the reference area <br />will be consistent with those employed in the affected area. <br />) A narrow corridor of juniper woodland community on the steep, predominantly west facing upland <br />slopes east of the valley will also be disturbed. The potentially disturbed area of juniper woodland will <br />be sampled fol lowi ng the procedures discussed for the greasewood c omm unit r. A new juniper <br />woodland reference area will be established in the general proximity ity of the affected area. The <br />reference area will be located on slope exposures and soil hypes that are consistent with those in the <br />proposed disturbed area. Juniper Woodland Reference area sampling will be consistent with methods <br />used in the affected area. <br />Planned Fruita Loadout Site <br />CAM is planning to construct a rail loadout involving a rail Ioop with associated coal handling facilities <br />inside the loop, at the site of an abandoned gilsonite refinery west of Fru ita. A barren expanse of <br />disturbed ground heavily impacted by past industrial activity covers a significant portion of the proposed <br />disturbed area. This area apparently supports no vegetative growth (with the exception of J. or at most <br />a very few widely scattered shrubs). The primary vegetation type that would be disturbed is a <br />greasewood shrubland c ommunity, located to the west of the barren expanse. A riparian /wetland <br />community (predominant tamarisk i overstory and herbaceous and erstory apparently) occurs in a narrow <br />band along the flood plain that has developed in the incised Reed wash drainage, which runs through <br />the project area from north to south. The incised drainage would be crossed by the rail loop line, but <br />disturbance would be kept to an absolute minimum associated with construction of a bridge. very small <br />disturbances would also likely occur in a couple locations where the proposed rail loop lire would cross <br />the margins of an herbaceous dominated wetland community that has apparently developed from <br />agricultural irrigation runoff from fields northwest of the disturbed area. The major points of discussion <br />were as follows: <br />J.) The boundaries and visual characteristics of the barren industrial expanse will be thoroughly <br />described and documented by narrative, photographs, and mapping as a component of the vegetation <br />baseline study, but no quantitative vegetation sampling will be required, due to the lack of vegetation. <br />Intensive chemical and physical characterization of the surface and sub - surface "soil" materials will need <br />to be documented in the permit application, but such documentation is outside the scope of the <br />vegetation baseline study. <br />2) The greasewood community within the proposed disturbed area will be mapped, sampled, described, <br />and documented as described previously with respect to the proposed disturbance areas for the <br />McClane permit revision. A greasewood reference area will be established within an appropriate <br />location outside of the proposed disturbance boundary. Reference area sampling methods will be <br />consistent with reference area sampling methods described previously with respect to the Mc lane <br />permit revision. <br />