Laserfiche WebLink
Section 11.2 Seneca II -W South Extension 1997 Wildlife Baseline Study <br />isIntroduction <br />Seneca Coal Company (SCC) operates the Seneca 11-W surface coal mine, located <br />approximately seven miles south of Hayden, in Routt County, Colorado. The current permit <br />area occupies approximately 3.8 square miles. The initial wildlife baseline study for the Seneca <br />ll -W Mine was conducted in 1974. It was quite comprehensive, covering vertebrate and <br />invertbrate fauna. Additional baseline work; concentrating on big game, sharp -tailed grouse, <br />and raptors, was conducted in 1979 and 1982. The results of these early surveys are <br />presented in Tab 11, Section 11.1 of the Seneca 11-W Mine Permit Application. <br />In 1997, SCC contracted Powder River Eagle Studies Inc. (PRES) to conduct a supplemental <br />wildlife baseline study on a proposed south extension identified as the Seneca II -W South <br />Extension. Prior to initiating fieldwork, PRE$ contacted local and regional Colorado Division of <br />Wildlife ICDOW) personnel to develop a scope of work for the supplemental wildlife baseline <br />study. It was agreed that the study should include information on habitat types, potential <br />species occurrence, winter big game distribution and numbers, nesting raptors, and threatened <br />and endangered species. <br />The extension area and its associated habitats are described below. Survey methods and <br />. results are presented by animal group. All locations given are in Township 5 North, Range 88 <br />West, 6'h Principal Meridian. <br />r1 <br />L -A <br />Study Area <br />The proposed extension area is adjacent to the south boundary of the 1980 Seneca II -W Mine <br />Permit Area. It is in the Williams Fork Mountains, just north of the divide between the Yampa <br />River to the north and the Williams Fork River to the south. The Williams Fork Mountains <br />support primarily mountain shrubland and aspen (Poputus tremu/oides) forest, with coniferous <br />forest being relatively limited even at the highest elevations. Elevation of the extension area <br />ranges from 7,200 to over 8,300 feet above mean sea level (AMSL). Topography of the area is <br />sloping to steeply sloping. A high ridge dominates the east side of the area. From that ridge, <br />the land slopes west and south down to Hubberson Gulch and associated ephemeral tributary <br />drainages. East of the ridge, the terrain falls away very steeply into tributary draws of Sage <br />Creek. Both Hubberson Gulch and Sage Creek are within the Yampa River drainage basin. <br />The wildlife study area, as shown on Exhibit 11-3 included approximately 1,400 acres in <br />Sections 26, 27, 34, and 35. Surveys for big game and raptor nests included additional <br />perimeters as described below. <br />33 Revised 9198 <br />