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rangeland for about 3.5 miles on the southern end and irrigated (hay) and non-irrigated Iwheat) <br />cropland for the remaining 2.75 miles to the inactive W.R. Grace coal loading facility. ~'"~ <br />From the W. R. Grace coal loading facility, the Tie-Across Haul Road traverses an area that includes <br />both cropland and rangeland, as shown on Exhibit 4-1. While passing through basically a cropland <br />area, portions of the proposed haul road routing follow areas of rangeland that range from relatively flat <br />to moderately sloping (see Photo 2, Appendix 4-1 ). <br />Mine Permit Area. <br />Existing Land Uses. Land uses within the Seneca II-W Mine Permit Area are shown on Exhibit 4-1. <br />Rangeland is the dominant land use within the current permit area and proposed permit expansion areas <br />(see Photo 3, Appendix 4-11. Other categories found within the boundaries include wildlife habitat, <br />industrial and water resources. <br />The current mine permit area shown on Exhibit 4-1 covers approximately 2,700 acres. The proposed <br />permit expansion areas add approximately 1,400 acres to the permit area. Nearly all of the acreage for <br />both the current permit area and expansion areas is currently used as rangeland for livestock and <br />wildlife. <br />While some competition exists bet•Neen wildlife and livestock for forages, this competition is limited <br />due to different seasons of intansiv:r use. According to ERT, only mule deer have been observed an the <br />Mine Permit Area during the summer months. More elk than deer were observed on this site during <br />winter months, but none were observed during the summer censuses when domestic livest~~ck make <br />the heaviest use of the area. Additionally, winter big game census flights conducted since 1985 <br />indicate that both the permit area and expansion areas are not heavily used by big game. See Tab 11, <br />Wildlife, for the results of the big game aerial census flights. <br />About three acres of land were classified as industrial. This parcel of land has been graded and <br />contains an oil well in operation at this time. There is no other industrial use within the permit area at <br />this time. <br />Three small stock watering ponds ~:ategorized as water resources were located within the Mine Permit <br />Area. These ponds were constructed by building an earthen dam across <br />Y~ <br />i p Reo•ised 9/98 <br />