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Vegetation The Eagle Mines permit area is located in the vicinity of the confluence of the Yampa and Williams Fork Rivers. The vegetation communities located within the permit boundaries vary from those associated with a riparian habitat to those found in xeric rock outcrops. Cottonwood-willow communities dominate the riparian habitat, while juniper or big sagebrush communities dominate the more xeric sites. There is also a mountain shrub community within the Utah tract. The surface disturbed area is characterized by big sagebrush and mountain shrub communities on the uplands, croplands and previously mined lands. The croplands are categorized into two types: 1) irrigated hayfields in the fertile river bottom areas, and 2) dryland wheat, found on cleared hillsides which were once sage-dominated. Several areas which were disturbed by former mining operations are within the surface disturbed area. Wildlife Diverse wildlife habitat is found within the permit area and is used extensively by mule deer and elk. Predators known to be present include cougar, coyote, red fox and bobcat. Small game and fur-bearing mammals include the cottontail rabbit, white-tailed jack rabbit, racoon, beaver, muskrat, striped skunk and weasel. Many species of birds are also found within the permit boundary. Of special interest are various species of waterfowl, raptors including the golden and bald eagle, the sandhill crane and the sage grouse. Fish species in the Williams Fork River, within the disturbed area, include various suckers and minnows, mottled scuplin, rainbow trout and mountain whitefish. Cultural and Historic Resources There are thirty-one known cultural and historic resource sites within the permit area. Land Use Land uses within the proposed surface disturbed area are cropland and rangeland/wildlife habitat. Mining has occurred within the permit area since the 1930's. Much of the area has been previously disturbed by surface and/or underground mining activities. The Eagle No. 5 Mine has been in existence since 1971. Description of the Operations and Reclamation Plan The Eagie No. 5 mine and Eagle No. 6 mine are both underground mines employing room and pillar and longwall mining methods to extract the coal resource. The Eagie No. 5 mine operates in the "F" seam, and the Eagle No. 6 mine operates in the "E" seam. In the Eagle No. 5 mine, Empire Energy Corporation uses conventional underground technioues for development of mains, submains and longwall panel entries. Room and pillar extraction technioues were used extensively in the past, but current production mining utilizes longwall -10-