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• Vegetation <br />Montane meadow, aspen, mountain shrub, and coniferous forest habitat types with drainage's <br />containing riparian corridors characterize vegetation in the exploration area. Of these habitat <br />types, aspen is the most abundant, followed by coniferous forest, montane meadow, mountain <br />shrub, and riparian respectively. Various grasses and other mountain shrubs occur sporadically <br />throughout the exploration area. No threatened, endangered, or candidate plant species have been <br />identified in the exploration area. <br />Soils <br />Soils in the exploration area are mainly derived from the Mesa Verde and Wasatch Formations <br />and have relatively high clay content. By limiting the size of drill sites and retaining topsoil for <br />reclamation purposes, revegetation success should not be a problem in this area. The revegetation <br />of previous drill sites has been very successful within this and adjacent exploration areas. <br />Wildlife <br />The exploration area is an important range for deer, elk, and bear. Other animals in the <br />exploration area include coyote, rabbit, porcupine, beaver, squirrel, mice and other rodents. The <br />proposed exploration program will be scheduled to avoid conflicts with the deer and elk on <br />winter range and user conflict during big game hunting season. Operations will be located such <br />as to not interfere with raptor nesting sites, including golden and bald eagle, and Peregrine <br />falcon. <br />Threatened or Endangered Species <br />Threatened and Endangered (T & E) clearance surveys were conducted for the E Seam Methane <br />Drainage Well Project EIS and are included as Attachment 4. The surveys have not identified <br />threatened or endangered plant or animal species within adjacent exploration areas. <br />The Dry Fork Exploration Area is within the area covered by the Final West - Central Colorado <br />Coal Environmental Statement prepared by the U.S. Department of the Interior, BLM, 1979. The <br />portion applicable to this section is covered on pages 573 through 582. The EIS concluded that <br />no threatened or endangered plants (pp.573 -577), or aquatic species (pp. 580 -582) exist in the <br />area. The only endangered wildlife species is the bald eagle, which does fly through the North <br />Fork Valley along the North Fork of the Gunnison River during the winter months. <br />The proposed exploration will occur in the late spring, summer, and early fall months and avoid <br />riparian habitats to the extent possible. Operations will be located such as not to interfere with <br />raptor nesting sites, and scheduled to minimize conflicts with the deer and elk on winter range <br />and user conflict during big game hunting seasons. <br />Land Use <br />The prevailing land use of the acreage contained in this application is wildlife habitat. Surface <br />topography is rugged. Limited camping, hunting, and cattle grazing occur in the proposed <br />exploration area. There are no highways or critical structures in this area. The Dry Fork Road, as <br />recognized and maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, lies within the proposed exploration area. <br />• Remnant roads, originally constructed for exploration drilling access, occur in the area. User <br />created ATV trails and jeep trails also exist. Game trails exist and it is a known elk winter range. <br />4 <br />