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or near the study area. The possibility exists for nesting to occur along the North Fork of the <br />Gunnison River. <br />Loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), Federal category 2 species, use has not been recorded <br />on the study area, although potential breeding and nesting habitat is present. Loggerhead shrikes <br />are dependent upon sagebrush and gambel oak shrub communities for breeding and nesting <br />habitat in this region during spring and summer. They are uncommon in the area during winter. <br />For specific information regarding study areas, methods for identification and counting of the <br />various wildlife present in the area, see Section 2.04.11 of the permit document. <br />Additional information on fish and wildlife in the PR-12 expansion area is contained in the copy <br />of the Federal Environmental Impact Statement for the Dry Fork Coal Lease which can be found <br />in Exhibit 77 of the permit application. <br />Description of the Operations and Reclamation Plan -Rule 2.05.3 and 2.05.4 <br />Mining at the West Elk underground mine began in 1982. The West Elk Mine leasehold consists <br />of mineable coal reserves in six Federal coal leases, one private lease and other fee coal <br />properties. The mine permit area, including the PR-12 expansion area, encompasses <br />approximately 17,155 acres. Current coal production ranges between 6.5 and 7 million tons per <br />year using the longwall mining method. <br />Six major coal seams exist on the West Elk Mine property. The seams are identified by the <br />letters A through F, in ascending stratigraphic order. The seams are separated by shale, siltstone, <br />and sandstone beds that vary in thickness from 15 feet to more than 250 feet. MCC's leasehold <br />has economically minable coal reserves in two of the seams, the B Seam and the E Seam. <br />Mining was by room-and-pillar methods until 1990 when longwall mining began in the B Seam. <br />The mine plan for the B Seam is shown on Map 52 of the permit application. MCC has <br />completed mining in the B Seam in the following four leases: D-044569, COC-54558, COC- <br />0117192, and C-1362. As of early 2008, MCC was longwall mining the B Seam in the Box <br />Canyon portion of lease COC-56447 (approved in PR-08) and maintains active development <br />entries in a fee lease area in Sylvester Gulch in Section 15-T13S-R90W (approved in TR-107). <br />B Seam mining has previously been approved for COC-67011 (PR-11), located in the West <br />Flatiron area. There are B Seam mineable reserves in a portion of C-0117192 where the F Seam <br />is mined out. <br />The mine plan for E Seam is shown on Map 51 of the permit application. As of early 2008, <br />MCC maintains active development entries in the E Seam in leases COC-56447, D-044569, and <br />C-1362. These entries will provide access to E seam longwall panels 1 through 9 that are to be <br />mined in lease C-1362 in the South of Divide area, as approved in PR-10. MCC will access the <br />E seam in the South of Divide (PR-10) area and Dry Fork lease (PR-12) area through the mine's <br />existing F to B seam slopes and will utilize the existing surface facilities near State Highway <br />133; consequently, no additional surface facilities or associated surface disturbance were <br />proposed in PR-10 or 12. (Technical Revisions 111 and 112 for surface disturbances associated <br />15 <br />