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Disturbed soil will be re-vegetated in a manner that optimizes plant establishment for
that specific site or vegetation community.
Revegetation will include one or more of the following: topsoil replacement, planting,
seeding, fertilization, liming, and placement of weed-free mulch, as necessary.
Revegetation will be initiated as soon as practicable, after termination of ground
disturbing activities.
5.14 T&E AND SPECIAL STATUS PLANT SPECIES
5.14.1 Baseline Surveys
5.14.1.1 Ute ladies’-tresses (
Spiranthes diluvialis
)
Habitat and species surveys for Ute ladies’-tresses (
Spiranthes diluvialis
) were conducted
August 15-18, 2011 and August 9, 2012, within the Project Area. Habitat suitability for Ute
ladies’-tresses was evaluated based on the presence of the following characteristics: late
season perennial water source, associated vegetation species, sandy or loamy textured soils,
gradual transitions between uplands and water body or drainages, vegetation density between
75 and 90 percent, vegetation height less than 18 inches, and non-alkaline soils. Based on the
2011 and 2012 field evaluations, late season perennial water sources were present within the
Project Area; however, no individuals or populations of Ute ladies’-tresses were found during
the 2011 and 2012 field surveys. Further evaluation of the field data is required to make habitat
suitability determination for the Project Area. Ute ladies’-tresses habitat surveys were conducted
in 2013 as deemed necessary by the Forest Service.
5.14.1.2 Blowout penstemon (
Penstemon haydenii
)
Habitat suitability for blowout penstemon is evaluated based on the presence of the following
characteristics: eolian sand deposits or sand deposits greater than 3 feet in depth, fine sandy
textured soils absent of rocks and coarse fragments, wind or gravity erosion versus water
erosion, slopes greater than 25 percent, slope elevation changes of 60 to 120 feet, vegetation
cover of less than 40 percent, and associated plant species. Based on NRCS soil data, soils
derived from eolian sources or sandy soils 3 feet in depth were not present within the Project
Area. Therefore, no blowout penstemon surveys were conducted in 2011 within the Project Area
and no blowout penstemon surveys were conducted in 2012 along the Miller Creek Access
Route or the overhead transmission line route.
5.14.1.3 USFS Region 2 Sensitive Plant Species and Plant Species of Local Concern
Forest Service Region 2 Sensitive plant species and plant Species of Local Concern (SLC)
were surveyed for June 11-12, 2012 within the Project Area and along Forest Service stretches
of the Miller Creek Access Route. Based on the Forest Service Region 2 Sensitive and Plant
SLC database, the following Sensitive or SLC plants may have suitable habitat present within
the Project Area: prairie moonwort (
Botrychium campestre
), narrowleaf grapefern (
Botrychium
lineare
), leathery grapefern (
Botrychium multifidum
), foxtail sedge (
Carex alopecoidea
), yellow
lady’s slipper (
Cypripedium parviflorum
), large round-leaf orchid (
Platanthera orbiculata
),
arrowleaf sweet coltsfoot (
Petasites frigidus var. sagittatus
), northern hollyfern (
Polystichum
lonchitis
), greenleaf willow (
Salix lucida spp. caudate
), and highbush cranberry (
Virburnum
opulus var. americanum
).
Thinleaf huckleberry (
Vaccinium membranaceum
), a species on the insufficient information list,
was documented at various locations within or in close proximity to the Project Area (Forest
Service, 2009). Thinleaf huckleberry was not sampled on transects during the 2011 vegetation
sampling; however, this species was observed within the Ponderosa Pine Woodland vegetation
