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REcavEa <br />MOUNTAIN COAL COMPANY WEST ELK MINE <br />DEER CREEK SHAFT AUG 2 b 2008 <br />2008 Division of Reclamation <br />INVENTORY FOR Mining and So' <br />THREATENED AND ENDANGERED, SENSITIVE AND <br />MANAGEMENT INDICATOR SPECIES AND NESTING RAPTORS <br />INTRODUCTION <br />This report presents information on vegetation/habitat and Threatened and Endangered, <br />Sensitive, Management Indictor Species, nesting raptor and neotropical bird observations for the <br />Mountain Coal Company Deer Creek Air Shaft location. <br />A survey for all Federal and State listed Threatened, Endangered, Sensitive and Management <br />Indicator Species and associated habitat was required before road and vent shaft site construction <br />could begin. To satisfy this requirement wildlife surveys were conducted 2005, 2006, 2007. <br />Even though the road and shaft site pad had been constructed surveys were conducted again in <br />2008. Information requirements and methodologies for conducting studies were established <br />during the previous studies were used again during the 2008 studies. <br />This report is an addendum to the previous reports and presents findings on the presence or <br />absence of any listed species, habitat availability and condition, presence of raptor nests and <br />other bird species observed during wildlife surveys in the Deer Creek Shaft area in 2008. <br />PROJECT AREA <br />The Deer Creek Shaft location was constructed during the summer of 2006. Construction of the <br />air shaft began in 2008 and was ongoing when the these wildlife surveys were conducted. It is <br />located approximately 500 feet west southwest of the Dry Fork of Minnesota Creek-Deer Creek <br />road junction. Access to the site is by a 760 foot road which originates at the Minnesota Creek <br />road and traverses across the slope in a southeasterly direction to the location.. Road and site <br />construction resulted in the loss of approximately 3.2 acres of aspen/mountain shrub habitat. <br />SURVEY METHODS <br />Habitat conditions were assessed within an area encompassing the shaft location and access <br />route. Bird surveys were conducted in all habitat types found within this area. See Figure 1. <br />Surveys were conducted in each habitat type throughout the area during three sampling periods <br />in from mid-May to mid-June of 2008. <br />In 2005 a large area around the proposed road and pad was surveyed for bird and other wildlife <br />activity (See 2005 Shaft #4 Area Report). In 2006 the area surveyed was reduced in size to cover <br />an area that encompasses the access road and pad. For all bird species an area of approximately <br />400 feet around the access road and air shaft pad was surveyed. Surveys were conducted in this <br />same area in 2007 and 2008.