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Hunter Canyon formation. The light—colored sandstones and shales of this <br /> formation are the parent materials on the steep southwest—facing slopes <br /> of the canyon where the vegetation is primarily Shadscale Shrubland. <br /> Historically, Coal Canyon has provided grazing for livestock and <br /> habitat for wildlife. The canyon is used as a wintering area for both <br /> mule deer and wild horses. These large herbivores have had an undesirable <br /> effect on the production and species composition of the native vegeta— <br /> tion. Total vegetation cover and the corresponding production have been <br /> reduced and there has been undesirable changes in the plant species <br /> composition of all vegetation types. Weedy species have increased both <br /> in number and cover while the cover of the more palatable native grass <br /> species has decreased. <br /> 3.2 DESCRIPTION OF VEGETATION <br /> Mining activities )tis <br /> ll disturb one vegetation type, the Sagebrush/ <br /> Cheatgrass Shrubland. vegetation type is described in the following <br /> section from quantitate e cover, production, and shrub density data <br /> collected during the 1931 growing season. Each of the other permit area <br /> vegetation types are di cussed from qualitative observations following <br /> the quantitative description. <br /> 3.2.1 Sagebrush/Cheatgrass Shrubland <br /> Cover <br /> Total veget'l �ion cover in the vegetation type of 137 acres <br /> averages 26.6 percent. Soil cover is high (33.6 percent ) as is litter <br /> and rock cover at 14.0 and 25.7 percent , respectively. Cover by life <br /> form is as follows: trees, 1.6 percent; shrubs, 11.7 percent; succulents, <br /> 0.1 percent; perennial raminoids, 4.3 percent; annual graminoids, 7.2 <br /> percent; perennial forb , 0.4 percent; annual forbs, 0.7 percent; and <br /> cryptogams, 0.7 percent <br /> Shrubs dominate in the vegetation cover of the Sagebrush/ <br /> Cheatgrass Shrubland. The 11.7 percent shrub cover is approximately 44 <br /> percent of the total ve etation cover. The major shrubs, black sage— <br /> brush and big sagebrush have a combined cover of 4.9 percent . Shadscale <br /> saltbush with a cover o 4.0 percent is also important. Other relatively <br /> common shrubs include broom snakeweed Xanthocepha-Cum ja/zvta/zae (0.9 <br /> percent ) , Gardner sal tb sh 4tlt. plex gaz&ze2t* (0.7 percent ) , corymbed <br /> wi I dbuckwheat C2ivgvn.um coltymbojum (0.5 percent ) , low rabbit brush <br /> Chzcy,jothamnu4 vi,jcidif_toiuj (0.3 percent ) , and black greasewood <br /> Sa,zcobatu,j ve1rm4.'cu-Catuj (0.3 percent) . Shrubs sparsely present are <br /> rough brickel (bush (32i eLCia mic,,zophzyUa, green ephedra 6phedia vili4dij, <br /> spineless hopsage §,zay4a b zandege. , antelope b i t terbrush l u2'Jh. a <br /> .tiudentata, and cot tout orn horsebrush l etlzadym<a 4pinoja. See Table 3. <br /> —9— <br />