2020-08-07_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981010

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On the south-facing slopes behind the ridgeline of the Williams Fork Mountains,vegetative communities are less developed with respect to cover, density, and production due to the less favorable soils, moisture regime, and increased solar insolation. The trend in these areas is toward communities dominated by juniper, pinon, mountain mahogany and xerophytes. Historical farming and ranching within the current permit area modified, to varying degrees, natural vegetative communities. Much of the land along toe-slopes and valley bottoms was cleared of native vegetation and is currently used for dry land agriculture. Most of the north-facing slopes in the area have been historically used for the grazing of sheep and/or cattle. These activities produced a mosaic of vegetation communities in the permit area comprised of mountain shrub, sagebrush/grass, and pinon/juniper. Wildlife Fauna are diverse in and adjacent to the permit area due to the wide variety of habitat types and include: Antelope, Mule deer, Elk, Blue grouse, Columbian sharp-tail grouse, and sage grouse. All are residents or occasional residents of the permit area, as are numerous types of waterfowl, song birds and raptors. The area provides habitat and migration routes for antelope, elk and mule deer. Raptors, several species of game birds, and numerous smaller mammals are found in the Williams Fork Mountains and surrounding areas. Land Uses Land uses in the area are rangeland,wildlife habitat, and agriculture. Cattle and sheep graze in the Williams Fork Mountains. Dry land wheat is cultivated on colluvial toe slopes of the Williams Fork Mountains. Native hay and dry land wheat are cultivated on the soils of the Yampa and Williams Fork River valleys. Description of the Operation and Reclamation Plans The permit area covers 11,156.69 acres. Mining Method Total cumulative coal production over the life of the Trapper mine is projected to be a maximum of 74 million tons. Coal mining occurs at the Trapper Mine using surface mining methods. Draglines remove overburden and interburden, while front-end loaders and haul trucks remove the coal seams. Trapper Mining, Inc. has historically oriented the pits north-south, parallel to the downhill dip of the coal seams. PR-05 reoriented pits G, F and Z (East F-Pit) parallel with the strike of the coal seams in an east-west direction. Strike line pits progress from north to south. Each successive pit cut occurs next to and parallel to the previous cut. When more than one seam is recovered in a pit, partings are removed by dozer, or backhoe, or similar equipment if thin; or by dragline, if thick. The October 2006 landslide in the East Panel of Trapper Mine created a need for a change in mining methods for the East Panel area, resulting in Permit Revision PR6. The Kimber Pit(K), and the Lancaster Pit(L, originally identified as G Pit), were originally planned as dragline pits, consistent with Trapper's historical mining method, In 2019 Trapper began work in the Nitghthawk,N Pit, located in the East and Middle Pyeatt 10