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can range below freezing in the winter, and yet in the summer, with the exception of higher <br /> elevations, can be extremely warm. The precipitation that does fall, originates from the <br /> Pacific Ocean weather systems, and most frequently occurs in the winter. <br /> Average annual precipitation ranges from approximately ten inches along the North Fork of <br /> the Gunnison River and the lower portion of Minnesota Creek to as much as 24 inches on the <br /> flanks of Mount Gunnison. The majority of precipitation falls as snow during the winter <br /> months, while the sparse summer precipitation consists of isolated thunderstorms. <br /> Soils - Rule 2.04.9 <br /> Soil Resource Information can be found in Section 2.04.9 in the permit document. More <br /> specific information relating to soil mapping units can be found in Exhibit 27, Exhibit 28, <br /> Exhibit 29, Exhibit 30, and on Maps 40 and 41. <br /> Soils of the West Elk Mine were mapped during the summer of 1976. Throughout the soil <br /> survey, "mapping units" were used to characterize the soils in the mine area. These survey <br /> mapping units are comhinations of Soil Families or selected Great Groups and Subgroups <br /> according to the system of soil taxonomy used in the National Soil Survey Program of the <br /> United States. During the summer of 1993 the soils of the Jumbo Mountain Tract were <br /> mapped utilizing criteria and descriptions contained in the Soil Conservation Service soil <br /> survey of the Paonia, Colorado area (USDA-SCS, 1993). Additional mapping and survey <br /> work was performed and submitted with the Apache Rocks Permit Revision. Any <br /> discrepancies in soil mapping units can be attributed to the change in soil classification <br /> during the time between the mapping efforts. The survey is a general reconnaissance and the <br /> mapping units are broad in concept. <br /> Vegetation - 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 /> 12 <br />