Dames & Moore, 1999 - USDA Forest Service

and stumps with bark piles surrounding them, which provide valuable wildlife habitat, are common. Mature
coniferous trees include ponderosa pine, Englemann spruce, Douglas fir, subalpine fir, and western white
pine. The forest floor is covered in places with false Solomon's seal and wild lily of the valley. Bracken
fern, lady fern, and Devil's club grow in lower patches. Dense willow and alder thickets and small, gravel
bottomed ponds are present along the borders of Railroad Creek. Several sedge species are associated with
the rocky pools.
Downstream Riparian
The areas immediately downstream of the tailings include wetlands dominated by extensive willow and
alder thickets near the creek and coniferous forest upland fiom the creek. Farther downgradient from the
tailings, western red cedar dominates in a large wetland forest pocketed with numerous small ponds. Other
trees present include black cottonwood and Englema~ spruce. This wetland area has a lush understory of
mosses, sedges, horsetail, ferns, and herbs, including bog orchids. Fallen timber and large snags surrounded
by bark piles are also present.
Tailings Piles
The tailings piles are sparsely vegetated with a combination of planted and volunteer plant species.
Volunteer tree species found growing along on steep sides of the tailings include Douglas fir, subalpine fu,
and Englemann .spruce. Willow and alder shrubs are also common along the tailings pile edges near
Railroad Creek. Various grasses, forbs, and sedges cover approximately 5 to 10 percent of the tops of the
tailings piles. Revegetation studies and plant inventories of the tailings piles are available from the USFS.
4.6.2.3 Wildlife
Herpetofauna
Herptiles observed during the September 1997 surveys were limited to long-toed salamander larva and a
garter snake in a small pool, adjacent to Railroad Creek, one half mile upstream of the Site. Caddisfly and
other insect larva were also found in this still pool surrounded by bulrushes and alders. Other opportunistic
searches during the seven day survey did not reveal any additional herpetofauna in Railroad Creek, adjacent
pools and wetlands, and upland forested and talus slopes. Amphibian, snake, and lizard species known to
exist in this area are listed in Table 4.6-6.
The amphibian species listed in Table 4.6-6 are found near water throughout all or part of their life stages.
These species all have aquatic larva within their reproduction life stages. The long-toed salamander has
pond adapted larva while the Pacific giant has stream adapted larva. The tailed frog breeds and lives near
fast moving, rocky mountain streams, while the other frog species breed in ponds, wetlands, or still, shallow
water near streams. Adult western toads and Pacific treefrogs may range far from water in a variety of
habitats (Leonard et al., 1993). The snakes listed in the table could be found in any of the habitats near the
Site. Rubber boas and garter snakes are usually found near water, and they sometimes share rocky denning
sites in winter (Brown et al., 1995).
Other herpetofauna potentially occurring within the area include the northwestern salamander, Van Dyke's
salamander, Larch Mountain salamander, rough-skinned newt, western fence lizard, western skink, racer,
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