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composition to improve forage quality <br />Native rangeland areas are used for livestock grazing and by wildlife. Classes of livestock in order <br />of importance are cattle, sheep and horses. In terms of land use, the more important wildlife <br />species are mule deer and elk. However, a wide variety of small mammals, predators, passerine <br />and upland game birds, and raptors frequent the area. While mule deer may be found in the <br />immediate area year round, elk are more likely to be found in the area during the winter season <br />after migrating from summer season range located in the adjacent high country. In the fall, the <br />quality of big game hunting and the natural beauty of the area draw a large number of in -state and <br />out -of -state hunters to the area, providing a sizeable boost to the local economy. Both in- permit <br />and out of permit lands of all classes support seasonal wildlife populations. Predominant native <br />vegetation types and wildlife habitat include the upland sagebrush, pinyon juniper, and areas of <br />riparian vegetation associated with Tuttle Draw and several small tributaries. It is probable that <br />irrigation tailwater has created or significantly enhanced areas of riparian vegetation. <br />3.0 Historic and Existing Land Use on the Permit Area <br />The original permit area consisted of lands north of Tuttle Draw mined by predecessor companies <br />from 1958 to 1983. This original area, as modified by reductions due to final bond releases, is now <br />known as NH 1 portion of the current permit. In the early 1980's, one of the predecessor companies <br />(Peabody) permitted, but did not mine an area south of Tuttle Draw and west of the Town of Nucla. <br />This area, labeled Nucla East by Peabody, is now know as New Horizon 2 (NH2) by Western <br />Fuels. The historic land use on the principal (NH2) area has been mostly irrigated pasture and <br />native rangeland. Existing use for NH2 is irrigated fields (mostly irrigated pastureland), abandoned <br />irrigated fields, native rangeland, mining disturbances, mine - related activities, and reclamation. In <br />most cases, pre -mine irrigation methods utilized flooding the land using gravity. Sideroll irrigation, <br />which is more efficient, was generally not used. <br />The much smaller NH1 area is the remaining parcel of land from pre -WFC mining that has not yet <br />been granted a full bond release. This mine permit area and surrounding released land, prior to <br />1958 when mining activities were begun by the Edna Coal Company, was fairly well split between <br />irrigated agricultural land and native rangeland /wildlife habitat. Irrigated agricultural land is meant <br />to encompass irrigated pasture, cropland and hayland. These are differentiated by the amount <br />of alfalfa in the fields as well as the intensity of the management of the irrigation. By the time <br />Peabody purchased the Navajo / Nucla Mine in 1963, nearly all irrigated lands south of the east -west <br />county road had been abandoned and approximately one quarter of the present permit area was <br />Revised September 2010 (PR 06) 2.04.3 -3 <br />