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Habitat Management, Inc. <br />Vegetation and Wildlife Baseline Survey Report <br />Linc Energy Little Snake River Project <br />Semi- Desert Grassland, <br />Greasewood Flat, <br />Salt Desert Scrub, <br />Mat Saltbush Shrubland, <br />Mixed Salt Desert Scrub, <br />Cliff and Canyon, <br />Shale Badland, <br />Limber Pine - Juniper Woodland, <br />Active and Stabilized Dune, <br />Introduced Riparian Vegetation, <br />Riparian Woodland and Shrubland, <br />Agriculture, <br />Agriculture- General, <br />Developed -Open Space, <br />Developed -Low Intensity, and <br />Non - Specific Disturbed. <br />4.1.1 Inter - Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland <br />This matrix forming ecological system occurs throughout the much of western U.S. In Colorado, <br />the largest occurrences are in the western half of the state, but this system can also be found in <br />eastern Colorado. Northwestern Colorado, North Park. Middle Park, and the upper Gunnison <br />Basin have large and continuous stands of sagebrush shrublands. This system is characterized by <br />a dense shrubland of taller Artemesia species. This system is similar to Inter - Mountain Basins <br />Big Sagebrush Steppe, but the " shrubland" is characterized by lower herbaceous cover, usually <br />less than 25 percent. <br />These shrublands are dominated by basin big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata) <br />and /or more commonly, Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis). In <br />some occurrences there are scattered Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum), <br />greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus), and saltbush (Atriplex species). Rubber rabbitbrush <br />(Ericameria nauseosa) and green rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) may codominate in <br />recently burned stands. By definition, perennial herbs contribute less than 25% of the vegetative <br />cover and consist mostly of graminoids, which can vary greatly in composition, depending on the <br />surrounding vegetation type. Dominant grasses can be either rhizomatous or bunch grasses. <br />Perennial forb diversity is quite variable depending on the site. Common graminoid species <br />include Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides), blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), threadleaf <br />sedge (Carex ftlifolia), thickspike wheatgrass (Elymus lanceolatus), needle and thread <br />(Hesperostipa comata), basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus), western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum <br />smithii), Sandberg's bluegrass (Poa secunda), or bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria <br />spicata). Sod - forming species such as thickspike wheatgrass and western wheatgrass are more <br />common in the eastern portion of the state. Common forbs include yarrow (Achillea <br />millefolium), arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), scarlet globe mallow (Sphaeralcea <br />coccinea), American vetch (Vicia americana), and plains prickly pear (Opuntia polyacantha) on <br />especially xeric sites. Within this type, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) or other annual bromes <br />and invasive weeds can be abundant. <br />Page 2 <br />December 2011 <br />