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Peabody Twentymile Coal Company 2005 Fish Creek AVF Riparian Vegetation Monitoring ground water access by vegetation will result in drought-induced mortality and changes in vegetative cover. 2005 Transects Baseline vegetation and soil data was not collected in the vicinity of the 2005 transects. Thus, the observations of the 2005 transects provide a snapshot of vegetation community chazacteristics in an area with initial mild subsidence. The banks of Fish Creek aze considerably steeper throughout the 2005 transects, relative to the 2003 transects. The Silver Sage -Pastureland covers 36% of the 2005 transects and is the most common vegetation community type, followed closely by the Improved Pasture - Mesic community type, which constitute 35% of the 2005 transects (Table 5}. Conclusion In summary, 2003-2005 observations along the Fish Creek AVF aze vaned, and do not conclusively indicate how post-mining subsidence affects vegetation community cover. The decreasing trend in the Silver Sage -Pastureland community type and the increasing trend in the Improved Pasture - Mesic community type observed in 2005 is surprising. Typically the reverse relationship between improved pasture and silver sage communities is observed. The severity and occurrence of post-mining subsidence has remained constant throughout the original study azea between 2003 and 2005. The observed changes in upland community types appeaz to be the result of land-use practices and precipitation trends rather than subsidence. In the last three yeazs mining activities have had little or no effect on the extent of riparian communities in the original study area. Therefore, future monitoring activities are not necessary in this vicinity. However, future monitoring activities may be necessary along the newly established 2005 transects to elucidate cause and effect relationships between post-mining subsidence and vegetation community cover in this setting. Habitat Management, Int. Page 7 3/14/2006