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according to the system of soil taxonomy used in the National Soil Survey Program of the United <br />States. During the summer of 1993, the soils of the Jumbo Mountain Tract were mapped <br />utilizing criteria and descriptions contained in the Soil Conservation Service soil survey of the <br />Paonia, Colorado area (USDA-SCS, 1993). The maps have been updated for subsequent permit <br />revisions. Any discrepancies in soil mapping units can be attributed to the change in soil <br />classification during the time between the mapping efforts. The survey is a general <br />reconnaissance and the 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 found <br />on Map 42 and 43. <br />The West Elk Mine collected baseline vegetation information in 1975, 1976, and 1993 for a <br />study area which extends approximately one mile outside the permit boundary and mine plan <br />boundary. This area is approximately 25,560 acres in size. This survey identified ten vegetation <br />types and six land types. They are as follows: 1) Aspen, comprising 19 percent of the study area; <br />2) Douglas fir, comprising four percent of the study area; 3) Wet Mixed Shrub, comprising 50 <br />percent of the study area, dominated by serviceberry and Gambel oak; 4) Dry Mixed Shrub, <br />comprising 10 percent of the study area, distinguished by serviceberry, Gambel oak, Mountain <br />mahogany, Cliff findlerbush, and bitterbrush; 5) Oak, comprising one percent of the study area, <br />including Gambel oak and the larger size oak individuals (15-20 ft in height), which are limited <br />to the bottom of permanent stream drainages; 6) Juniper, comprising five percent of the study <br />area, 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 above <br />8,000 feet, occupied by herbaceous species such as sedges and false hellebore; 10) Dry Meadow, <br />comprising one percent of the study area which is dominated by various shrub species such as <br />snowberry, Douglas rabbitbrush, and Gambel oak; 11) Barren Terrain, comprising less than one <br />percent of the study area which was identified by no apparent vegetation cover; 12) Chained <br />Area, comprising less than one percent of the study area, is so named because the area has been <br />mechanically treated by chaining to remove tall shrub species and has been trenched along the <br />contours and planted to ponderosa pine; 13) Reservoir, comprising less than one percent of the <br />study area and includes Beaver Reservoir and Minnesota Reservoir; 14) Residential, comprising <br />less than one percent of the study area and includes the town of Somerset; 15) Industrial, <br />comprising less than one percent of the study area which includes the Elk Creek Mine, the Bear <br />No. 3 Mine, railroad sidings, and mine vents; and 16) Agricultural, comprising less than one <br />percent of the study area. <br />The two vegetation types that occur within the area to be affected by surface facilities are a dry <br />meadow type and a moist, mixed shrub type. <br />Ina 1994 Environmental Analysis (EA) produced by the Uncompahgre Basin Resource Area of <br />the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on the Jumbo Mountain coal lease, one plant species, <br />the Grand Mesa penstemon (Penstemon mensarum, a Federal category 2 species) was noted as <br />13 <br />