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Nine vegetation types have been inventoried in the mine permit area, including agriculture, aspen, <br />mixed shrub, mountain meadow, oakbrush, pinon juniper, sagebrush, sparse herbaceous <br />understory, and riparian. <br />The majority of the disturbed areas at the Bowie No. 1 Mine are located in oakbrush communities <br />dominated by Gambel oak ( uercus gambehi) and serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) and in <br />pinon juniper communities where Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) dominates over pinon <br />pine (Pinus edulis). Other communities disturbed to a lesser degree include agriculture (orchards), <br />mixed shrub, and riparian. <br />No threatened or endangered plant species have been identified on the permit area. <br />Fish and Wildlife - Rules 2.04.11, 2.05.6(2), 4.18 <br />The fish andwildlife resources sections of the application are in the PAP in Section 2.04 ofVolume <br />1 and in the Wildlife Appendix, Volume 9A. The Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Plan is found in <br />Section 2.05 of Volume 1. <br />The general area contains important winter range for both elk and deer, and over 10,000 hunter <br />days per year are spent in this area. Golden eagles have been nesting near the mine site for several <br />years, but no threatened or endangered wildlife species have been observed. The North Fork of <br />the Gunnison River contains twelve (12) species offish, including three (3) species of game fish <br />(rainbow trout, brown trout, and northern pike). However, due to the poor production of benthic <br />organisms and poor habitat conditions, the North Fork is not stocked frequently. <br />Impacts to wildlife are minimized by prohibiting public use of trails when big game are <br />concentratedin the winter (December 1 to April 16), andby prohibitingthe cutting of snags except <br />those within the actual disturbed area. <br />Description of the Operation and Reclamation Plans <br />The Bowie No. 1 Mine was an underground mine which had been in operation since 1975, but has <br />ceased operations and is in the process of being reclaimed. There are three major disturbed areas <br />within the permit boundary. The original portals east of Steven's Gulch were the site of the main <br />offices, crushing and screening facilities, and storage and warehouse areas. Before reclamation <br />activities began in 2000, the Bowie No. 1 West Mine portals on East Roatcap Creek were adjoined <br />by a small maintenance facility, ventilation shaft and water tank. The coal loadout facilities were <br />located adjacent to the North Fork of the Gunnison River along State Highway 133. <br />The Bowie No. 1 West Mine portal facilities in East Roatcap Creek enabled BRL to access the <br />reserves that had been cut off due to the fire at the main portals. Mining occurred west of the main <br />East Mine during the 1988 to 1993 five year mine plan. The East Mine portals were rehabilitated <br />during late 1992 and early 1993. The two mines were connected underground in June 1993 and a <br />beltline was used to transport the majority of coal out of the east portals to the crushing and <br />screening facility located at the east mine. This ended the need for the trucking of coal from the <br />west mine portals, which had commenced when the West Mine became operational. The approved <br />13 <br />