2010-05-07_PERMIT FILE - C2009087 (18)

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Sage Creek Mine February 2009 • the more gradual, open draws in the west (including Scotchman's Gulch), generally drain to the north and feed into Grassy Creek. Two other primary drainages, Fish Creek and Foidel Creek, run southwest to northeast, nearly perpendicular to the proposed transportation route south of the main permit area. Fish Creek is associated with open valleys and rolling hills present within Twentymile Park to the south of the main permit area and the proposed transportation corridor. Foidel Creek parallels the course of Fish Creek, but is located farther south and winds around some of the minor ridgelines and woodlands near the Twentymile Coal Company facilities at the southern extreme of the proposed transportation route. In spring 2008, nearly all creeks and most minor drainages contained surface water from the on -going snowmelt in the surrounding higher elevations. By summer 2008, surface water had decreased considerably but was still evident as small flowing channels or intermittent flow in most of the major drainages. Several ponds and impoundments were present throughout the study area, and most hosted at least some wetland vegetation, such as sedges (Carex and Scirpus spp.) and rushes (Juncus spp.), along the shoreline. The larger impoundments included the Nofsteger and Nofsteger Zeigler reservoirs in SE SE Section 4 and NW NW Section 9 T5N:87W, respectively. Smaller impoundments and ponds also existed in SE SW Section 27, SW NE Section 28, and SE NE Section 34 T6N:R87W and SW SW Section 11 and • NW NE Section 13 T6N:R87W. The study area is bisected from the north and south by the Twentymile County Road 27. Private surface ownership is prevalent in the north and west portions of the permit area, along with a few small Bureau of Land Management (BLM) parcels. Ownership in the majority of the southeast is State land, but privately owned along the far southern portion of the study area. Current land uses within the study area include livestock grazing (sheep and cattle), hunting, passive recreation, agriculture, and mining. The wildlife study area is dependent upon the species and /or taxa surveyed (Exhibit 1). Big game surveys conducted specifically for the Sage Creek Mine in winter 2009 included the permit area and a 2.0 -mile buffer. All previous big game survey results are derived from the overlapping big game survey area for the Seneca II and Yoast Mines (approximately 65.4 square miles), which covered more than 61% of the Sage Creek Mine study area. Only the far northern and southeastern 2.0 -mile perimeter of the study area was not included in the previous Seneca II and Yoast Mine big game survey areas. Surveys for grouse leks were conducted within the Sage Creek Mine study area and an extended 1.0 -mile perimeter. Surveys for nesting raptors were • completed within 0.5 mile of the proposed surface disturbing activities, while surveys for threatened 3