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Colowyo began fencing the boundaries of the Federal lease during the fall of 1976. The <br />• fencing was completed during the summer of 1977. At this time all the cattle were removed <br />from the lease area. The fencing was done as part of an overall grazing management <br />program to improve the rangeland after several years of over-grazing. In ]991, Colowyo <br />constructed a similar fence to provide a boundary for the areas added to the Permit and to <br />exclude grazing in [his area. <br />Disturbed Areas <br />Disturbed acreage has been kept to a minimum in the permit area by proper planning for the <br />location of mine support facilities, haul roads, and pit advance. The mining methods, as <br />discussed in Section 2.05.3, allow for a minimum amount of disturbance on an annual basis <br />(less than l00 acres per pit), when compared to strictly one or two seam mines with similar <br />production levels which disturb several hundred acres annually per pit. Topsoil and <br />vegetation are removed during the summer and fall months to allow for only enough <br />disturbance to facilitate mining advance through June of the following year. <br />Habitat Improvement Pro r~ am <br />Prior to start-up of mining, Colowyo initiated a big game habitat improvement program in <br />January 1976. The purpose of this on-going program was to increase range carrying capacity <br />by increasing available browse and increased access to herbaceous species. Another objective <br />of the program was to provide increased forage on selected undisturbed areas on and adjacent <br />to the mine site to draw wildlife away from newly reclaimed areas until the vegetation <br />became established. A third benefit was to improve enough habitat prior to and during <br />mining in order to offset the temporary loss of habitat from mining. <br />The technique for habitat improvement involved using a rubber tired or tracked dozer during <br />the winter months, preferably when there was minimal snow cover and the ground was <br />frozen, to shear off the dormant shrubs a few inches above ground level. <br />• <br />2.05-67 Revision Date: 8/29/97 <br />Revision No,: TR-42 <br />