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Wet mixed shrub is the most prevalent vegetation type in the permit area and is characterized by dense <br />shrub stands dominated by serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) and gambel oak (Quercus gambelii). The <br />type dominates the north and east facing slopes south of the North Fork of the Gunnison River. Steep <br />north facing slopes at higher elevations support stands of douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Riparian <br />vegetation, including cottonwood trees (Populus angustifolia), shrubs such as willow (Salix spp.) and <br />hawthome (Crataegus spp.) and numerous herbaceous species, occurs along undisturbed sections of the <br />North Fork of the Gunnison flood plain. Small areas of Aspen, Juniper-Pinon and Dry meadow <br />vegetation types exist at higher elevations on the permit area. <br />The Wet mixed shrub and riparian vegetation types have been affected by mining at the Bear No. 3 Mine <br />surface facilities area. Mining impacts to the vegetation types at the Bear No. 3 Mine location began in <br />1934 with the Edwards Mine. Revegetation of the Bear No. 3 Mine surface disturbance has taken place. <br />The site was seeded in 1997 and 2000. Limited interseeding occurred in 2001. <br />Fish and Wildlife - Rules 2.04.11, 2.05.6(2), and 4.18 <br />Fish and wildlife resource information is located in Sections 2.04.11 and 4.18 and Exhibit 10 of the Bear <br />No. 3 Mine permit application. Information describing the mitigation of coal mining impacts on fish and <br />wildlife is presented in Sections 2.05.4 and 2.05.6 of the Bear No. 3 Mine permit application. <br />Numerous wildlife species inhabit the general area. Mule deer and elk which utilize the mountain shrub <br />habitat in, and adjacent to, the permit area throughout the year are the most prominent big game species. <br />The northern bald eagle is a winter resident along the North Fork of the Gunnison River and is the only <br />rare or endangered wildlife species known to exist in the area. The North Fork of the Gunnison River <br />from Paonia Reservoir downstream five miles to Somerset is stocked by the Division of Wildlife with <br />rainbow trout and supports an estimated 2,000 angler days per year. Below Somerset to the confluence <br />with the Gunnison River, the fishery is less important, with rough fish such as suckers, scuplins and <br />northern pike making up a larger proportion of the fish population. <br />Description of Operations and Reclamation Plan <br />Mining operations at the Bear No. 3 Mine are described in Sections 2.05.2, 2.05.3 and 4.02 to 4.11, <br />Exhibits 14 and 19, and Maps 9, 9a and 10 of the Bear No. 3 Mine permit application. <br />The Bear Coal Company ceased extracting coal from the Bear No. 3 Mine in 1996. The Bear No. 3 Mine <br />was an underground room and pillar operation, producing an average of 450,000 to 500,000 tons of coal <br />per year from the B-Seam. The coal mined by Bear Coal Company was transported from the <br />underground workings via conveyors to the Bear No. 3 portal, and then to a stacking tube and coal <br />stockpile. Coal was then transported from the stockpile area by conveyor to a truck loadout facility and <br />trucked to the Terror Creek Loadout facility (Colorado Permit No. C-83-059) near Bowie, Colorado, or to <br />the Sanborn Creek Mine (Permit No. C-81-022) for shipping. <br />The Bear No. 3 Mine operation began in 1982 and initially involved the mining of the C-Seam in Federal <br />Coal Leases D-052501 and C-01170192. Several of the portals and entries of the abandoned pre-law <br />Edwards Mine were rehabilitated and used for the Bear No. 3 Mine portals and entries. Mining <br />commenced from the outcrop of the C coal seam exposed in the mountainside south of the North Fork of <br />the Gunnison River. The main entries proceeded updip in a southerly direction with panel development <br />areas extending both easterly and westerly from the mains. Ramps to the B-Seam were constructed <br />extending south from the C-Seam main entries. <br />9