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5. Studies of fish and wildlife made in association with Seneca Coal Company's Seneca II - <br />W Mine and the Tie -Across haul road. Wildlife studies were conducted in 1979 in an area <br />designated for construction of the Tie -Across Haul Road which would allow Seneca Coal <br />Company to move coal from RCR 53 to the Hayden Power Station. <br />6. Site reconnaissance by qualified biologists from Peabody Western Coal Company on behalf <br />of HGTI conducted on October 7 and October 23, 1992. <br />7. Comprehensive literature review of CDOW and BLM databases for plant and wildlife <br />species of special concern in conjunction with RN -03 (2008) and RN -05 (2017). <br />Wildlife Habitats <br />This section describes habitats identified within and surrounding the Permit Area during field <br />reconnaissance conducted on October 7 and 23. 1992. The distribution of the wildlife habitats is <br />shown on Exhibit 11-1, Fish and Wildlife Habitats. Acreages are given in Table 11-1, Habitat <br />Types and Acreages Existing in the Hayden Gulch Coal Handling Facility pen -nit Area. Soils and <br />vegetation information related to each habitat may be found in Tabs 9, Soil Resources, and 10, <br />Vegetation, respectively. <br />TABLE 11-1 <br />Habitat Types and Acreages Existing in the Hayden <br />Facility <br />Gulch Coal Handling <br />Habitat Type <br />Acreage <br />Saline/Alkaline Wet Meadow <br />5.4 <br />Saline/Alkaline Shrublands <br />37.1 <br />Disturbed Area <br />132.6 <br />Aquatic Area <br />1.2 <br />Saline/Alkaline Wet Meadow. This habitat occurs as a narrow ribbon along the banks of Dry <br />Creek and surrounding two existing sediment ponds (see Exhibit 11-1). It corresponds to the <br />Alkaline meadow vegetation community described in Tab 10. The dominant soil is Spicerton variant <br />(0-5 percent slopes), which typically occurs on alluvial fans and stream bottoms (see Tab 9). The <br />range site classification withinwhich the habitat falls is Claypan. <br />This habitat is structurally simple throughout much of the permit area and is limited in aerial extent. <br />However, moderately -incised cutbanks along some meanders of the stream channel are included in <br />this type and provide enhanced topographic diversity offering good escape and thermal cover. <br />Saline/Alkaline Shrublands. This habitat occurs on alluvial terraces, flats and upland slopes <br />adjacent to Dry Creek, and on slopes adjacent to the rail spur (see Exhibit 11-1). Vegetation <br />communities represented in this habitat include a mixture of rabbitbrush/silver sage, alkali <br />sage/greasewood, alkali sage/western wheatgrass, big sagebrush, and minor grasslands (see Tab <br />10). The dominant soil is Spicerton variant (0-5 percent slopes), and the range site classification is <br />Claypan (see Tab 9). <br />This habitat is moderately complex, consisting of a low to moderately statured shrub overstory <br />locally dominated by one or more salt tolerant shrub species (e.g., Chrysothamnus nauseosus, <br />Artemisia cava, A. longiloba, Sarcobatus vermiculatus), or big sage (A. tridentata). The <br />understory consists of a variety of forbs and graminoids including wheat grasses (Agroypyron spp.), <br />RN17-05 11-4 Revised 12/17 <br />