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MOUNTAIN COAL COMPANY <br />WEST ELK MINE <br />2005 <br />SST-1 EXPLORATION PROJECT <br />WILDLIFE HABITAT EVALUATIONS AND INVENTORY FOR T&E, <br />SENSITIVE AND MANAGEMENT INDICATOR SPECIES <br />INTRODUCTION <br />This is a continuation of work associated with exploration drilling programs that have <br />been going on for several years. Information included in this report was gathered during <br />surveys conducted in late May 2005. Even though the SST-1 drill site and access road is <br />on property owned by Mountain Coal Company, it was close enough to National Forest <br />System (NFS) Lands to potentially have an effect. Therefore, the surrounding NFS lands <br />were surveyed along with the private property <br />Information requirements and methodologies were established during consultations with <br />USFS biologists during previous studies. These same methodologies have been used in <br />subsequent years for other drilling programs, and include, assessment of habitat <br />conditions and wildlife presence at each proposed drill site and along each road corridor. <br />Wildlife surveys were conducted for a radius of 400 feet around each site and 400 feet <br />either side of proposed road corridors. Emphasis was placed on T&E, Sensitive and <br />Management Indicator Species (MIS). In addition to these surveys, suitable raptor <br />nesting habitat within a 1/4 mile radius of each drill site or road corridor was checked for <br />both active and inactive nests. However, in those cases where ridgelines or stands of <br />trees created visual barriers, raptor surveys were only conducted in suitable habitat found <br />on the drill site/access road side of the ridge or stand of trees. There are also instances <br />where other features created suitable visual barriers that affected distances from drill sites <br />or roads that were surveyed. <br />The site and access road was surveyed for: (1) habitat type and condition, (2) raptor <br />nesting activity, (3) presence of T&E, Sensitive and Management Indicator Species, (4) <br />other bird species of interest and (5) activities of other wildlife. <br />A summary of findings at the drill site and on the road corridor follows. The drill site <br />location and access road are shown on Figure 1. <br />