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Vegetation in the permit area is dominated by an oak/pinion community. Most of the land <br />in the permit area, with the exception of the canyon bottoms and a few small grassland <br />meadows, would be rated poor for suitability as rangeland. <br />Numerous wildlife species occur through the permit and adjacent area. The permit area is <br />important year-round habitat for elk, deer, bear and turkeys. A variety of small mammals <br />and reptiles are also found in the permit area. Fish are generally limited to perennial <br />sections of streams and game fish are entirely limited to the Purgatoire River. Raptors <br />utilize the permit and adjacent area and 39 species of other birds were noted during bird <br />surveys. <br />Climate in the area is semi-arid, with approximately 15 inches of precipitation annually. <br />Forty-four (44) percent of the total annual precipitation comes in the form of rainfall during <br />the months of May, July and August, and sixty-seven (67) percent occurs between May <br />and October. Wind speeds average slightly over 8 miles per hour on an annual basis and <br />are out of the southwest one third of the time. <br />Description of the Operation and Reclamation Plans <br />The following description of the operation plan remains in this Permit Renewal findings <br />document for reference only. Reclamation plan information is approved as part of this <br />renewal. The renewal of the permit (RN-02) is for reclamation only and consistent with the <br />previous renewal (RN-01). <br />Only surface mining was conducted at the Lorencito Canyon mine. The total anticipated <br />affected and disturbed area is approximately 1517 acres. Map 2.05.3-1 of the permit <br />application depicts the mine plan and the life-of-mine plan. Underground coal reserves are <br />identified in the life-of-mine description. <br />Disturbance at the site began with haul road construction up to the Jeff Canyon surface <br />mine, modifying and upgrading the existing road as necessary. Sediment ponds were <br />constructed in side drainage valleys as necessary. A coal loadout area of about 5 acres <br />was developed along the Purgatoire River valley adjacent to the A & K rail line. At the time <br />of Permit Renewal No. 1 (RN-01), the rail line was removed for scrap and salvage. The <br />original mine plan was implemented for only about 9 months before operations were <br />halted. Only surface mining in the Jeff Canyon area was conducted during that time. <br />Surface mining operations in the Jeff Canyon area were conducted using mountaintop <br />removal techniques. <br />8