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Twenty Mile Mine Amendment - Baseline Vegetation Study Plan <br />1 Overview <br />The Peabody Twenty Mile Coal Mining Company is proposing an amendment to existing Permit <br />#407. The amendment area is known as the West Mining District and includes 2,558 acres of <br />potential underground mining within the proposed permit boundary. Between 7 and 10 acres will <br />be disturbed by surface activities associated with underground mining. Additionally, there will <br />be some surface disturbance associated with access roads to the surface facilities. <br />Baseline data will be collected to support permitting of the West Mining District. Baseline data <br />will be collected using vegetation sampling methodologies that are in compliance with the <br />requirements set forth in the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for <br />Coal Mining ("regulations"), Parts 2.04.10, 4.15.7 and 4.15.10. Since the proposed disturbance <br />area is less than 40 acres in size, reclamation standards will be established using 4.15.7 2 (vi) that <br />allows the use of pre-mining data from the proposed disturbance area for setting success <br />standards. The pre-mine data must be representative of local conditions for land under proper <br />management; the baseline study report will include this demonstration. <br />1.1 Vegetation Community Mapping <br />Five distinct vegetation communities were identified during initial field reconnaissance in the fall <br />of 2007. Vegetation communities include Sagebrush Upland, Improved Agricultural Pasture, <br />Silver Sage Bottomland, Wet Meadow and Emergent Marsh. For permitting purposes the Silver <br />Sage Bottomland, Wet Meadow and Emergent Marsh Communities have been grouped together <br />in a complex referred to as Riparian Bottomland complex. The Riparian Bottomland complex <br />will not be disturbed by proposed mining activities on the surface. As in previous permits, the <br />Riparian Bottomland complex will be monitored for potential impacts associated with <br />underground subsidence; therefore it will not be necessary to characterize this complex using <br />typical vegetation baseline inventory methods. <br />The Riparian Bottomland complex was delineated during pedestrian surveys within the proposed <br />amendment area in the fall of 2007. Some preliminary mapping of the Sagebrush Upland and <br />Improved Agricultural Pasture vegetation communities within the subsidence area was <br />performed in the fall of 2007. Mapping of these two communities in the potential surface <br />disturbance areas will be completed in the spring of 2008 using aerial photographs and field <br />inspection, as necessary. <br />The vegetation baseline study area includes only those areas where surface disturbance for <br />support facilities may potentially be located. Mapping of upland vegetation communities will be <br />performed on three areas where disturbance may occur as shown on Map 1. All three of these <br />areas are located on the western end of the proposed underground mine. The potential <br />disturbance area makes up 162.3 acres and is comprised of 3 areas where shaft pads and <br />dewatering pumps will potentially be located. Delineation of vegetation community boundaries <br />within the disturbance area will be performed in the field and using aerial photographs. <br />Boundaries will then be digitized into an electronic map in either GIS or AutoCAD format. A <br />summary of the vegetation communities and land use types found within the proposed <br />amendment area is included below. <br />3