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Veeetation - Rule 2.04.10 <br /> Specific information regarding collection and analysis of vegetation can be found in Section <br /> 2.04.10 in the permit document. The distribution of the land and vegetation types can be <br /> found on Map 42s and 43. <br /> The West Elk Mine collected baseline vegetation information in 1975, 1976, and 1993 by <br /> studying a designated environmental study area, which extends approximately one mile <br /> outside the permit boundary and mine plan boundary. This area is approximately 25,560 <br /> acres in size. This survey identified ten vegetation types and six land types. They are as <br /> follows: 1) Aspen, comprising 19 percent of the study area; 2) Douglas fir, comprising four <br /> percent of the study area; 3) Wet Mixed Shrub, comprising 50 percent of the study area, <br /> dominated by serviceberry and Gambel oak; 4) Dry Mixed Shrub, comprising 10 percent of <br /> the study area, distinguished by serviceberry, Gambel oak, Mountain mahogany, Cliff <br /> findlerbush, and bitterbrush; 5) Oak, comprising one percent of the study area, including <br /> Gambel oak and the larger size oak individuals (15-20 ft in height), which are limited to the <br /> bottom of permanent stream drainages; 6) Juniper, comprising five percent of the study area, <br /> which includes Rocky Mountain Juniper and Utah Juniper; 7) Riparian, comprising two <br /> percent of the study area, 8) Sagebrush, comprising six percent of the study area; 9) Wet <br /> Meadow, comprising one percent of the study area, distinguished by open boggy areas along <br /> major drainages above 7,000 feet and openings in brushy or forested areas at elevations <br /> above 8,000 feet, occupied by herbaceous species such as sedges and false hellebore; 10) <br /> Dry Meadow, comprising one percent of the study area which is dominated by various shrub <br /> species such as snowberry, Douglas rabbitbrush, and Gambel oak; 11) Barren Terrain, <br /> comprising less than one percent of the study area which was identified by no apparent <br /> vegetation cover; 12) Chained Area, comprising less than one percent of the study area, is so <br /> named because the area has been mechanically treated by chaining to remove tall shrub <br /> species and has been trenched along the contours and planted to ponderosa pine; 13) <br /> Reservoir, comprising less than one percent of the study area and includes Beaver Reservoir <br /> and Minnesota Reservoir; 14) Residential, comprising less than one percent of the study area <br /> and includes the town of Somerset; 15) Industrial, <br /> comprising less than one percent of the study area which includes the Somerset Mine, the <br /> Bear No. 3 Mine, railroad sidings, and mine vents; and 16) Agricultural, comprising less <br /> than one percent of the study area. <br /> In a 1994 Environmental Analysis (EA) produced by the Uncompahgre Basin Resource Area <br /> of the Bureau of Land Management (BL.M) on the Jumbo Mountain coal lease one plant <br /> species, the Grand Mesa penstemon (Penstemon mensarum), a Federal category 2 species) <br /> was noted as having the potential to occur in the area. The EA further required a threatened <br /> and endangered plant survey prior to any surface disturbance. As no surface disturbance in <br /> proposed within the Jumbo Mountain lease area, the survey has not been completed. <br /> Additional and updated vegetation information was collected and submitted with the Apache <br /> Rocks Permit Revision. <br /> The two vegetation types that occur within the area to be affected by surface facilities are a <br /> dry meadow type and a moist, mixed shrub type. <br /> 11 <br />