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Section 6, T46N, R15W <br /> N�NEkSW% <br /> Portions of MSEk <br /> The climate of the study area is semi-arid. Precipitation is distributed throughout the <br /> year, although the greatest amounts are received in summer. Convectional showers are <br /> typical in summer and cyclonic rains and snows are characteristic of the remainder of the <br /> year. Annual precipitation averages approximately 12 to 13 inches (303-330mm). <br /> Temperatures are moderate. The mean annual temperature is approximately 48°F (8.9°C). <br /> Further information concerning the climate of the Nucla area may be found in Tab 8. <br /> The native vegetation of the Nucla area is characteristic of the moderate elevations of <br /> the Colorado Plateau. Pinyon-Juniper woodlands cover extensive areas in the region where <br /> shallow rocky soils persist on the mesas and ridges. Sagebrush and other shrublands occur <br /> on deeper soils in the valleys and basins. Cottonwood and willow-dominated gallery <br /> forests (Populus sp. and Salix sp.) are present along the San Miguel River. <br /> The native vegetation in the study area has been extensively altered through irrigation. <br /> Only remnants of the pinyon-juniper woodland and sagebrush shrubland remain in the complex <br /> of irrigated pastures, hay fields, and croplands. These remnant native sites are situated <br /> on small rises where irrigation is not possible. A complete description of the vegetation <br /> in the study area may be found in Tab 10 (Addendum 10-3). <br /> Existing Wildlife Habitat Descriptions <br /> The majority of the native habitat in the Nucla East study area has been converted to <br /> agricultural production through an extensive irrigation network which draws water from the <br /> San Miguel River. The wildlife habitats designated herein, while comparable to the <br /> vegetation communities recognized and mapped in Tab 10 (Addendum 10-3) were further <br /> defined based on major structural differences of the canopy. The selection and <br /> utilization of a habitat by a particular species or species group is typically based on <br /> the physiognomic characterization of that habitat (Ricklefs 1979). Therefore, the low <br /> stature and dominance of herbaceous vegetation justified combining the irrigated <br /> hayland/pasture, irrigated pasture, and irrigated cropland into a single wildlife habitat <br /> type. The intensive utilization and frequent flood irrigation of all three of these types <br /> limited their significant use by wildlife, which further supported merging them into a <br /> single type. <br /> 11-2-2 Revised 04/11/88 <br />