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Land -Use <br />Current and historic land use in the vicinity of the operation has been coal mining, <br />livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. "Historically,Tcoal has been extracted -from the mine <br />area by both surface -strip' and underground methods. <br />Irrigat"ed n the area'-is to portions of the Trout Creek alluvial body and <br />to the Yainpa'River floodplain: Non- irrigated crops are grown on sloping upland areas as <br />well as on some alltivial bottom lands. No cropland was disturbed bythe:mining <br />operation. <br />Topsoil <br />r <br />Topsoil within the permit area`is discontinuous in the West :arid Center Ridge Areas due <br />to previous surface mining operations. Approximately nine inches oftopsoil were <br />replaced. on 132 acres in the West Ridge Area and' 375 acres in the Moffat Area. • <br />Vegetation <br />Vegetation in the vicinity of the mine is characterized by three vegetative types: mixed <br />brush; sagebrush grassland, and aspen. Mixed brush and sagebrush grassland <br />communities form an intertwined mosaic on the predominantly - _westem:and southern <br />exposures while the aspen'commuriity predominates in mesic sites Within swales and <br />north and east 'exposures. <br />Wildlife <br />Numerous wildlife species inhabit the general area of the mine site. Predominant big <br />game species are Elk and Mule Deer. Smaller species observed include the coyote and <br />marmot Common raptors include Golden Eagle, Red- tailed Hawk, Great Horned Owl, <br />Hairier and American Kestrel: <br />Information in the permit is up to date for the current listing of wildlife species in Routt <br />County, Colorado, that are listed as Federal or State threatened, endangered or of special <br />concern . None of these species or respective habitat would be threatened by the <br />remaining reclamation activities in the permit area. <br />Description of the Operation arid Reclamation Plans <br />The Edna Mine was a surface mine utilizing area strip methods. The mining process <br />included' clearing of vegetation topsoil removal, overburden blasting and removal, and. <br />coal `blasting and removal: Reclamation of the mined areas was concurrent with mining <br />and included backfilling, grading, topsoil redistribution, and vegetation reestablishment. <br />Mining ceased in December of 1995, and the majority of the required reclamation took <br />place in 1996. Four alluvial and groundwdter `monitoring wells were reclaimed in' <br />3 Previous permit period Division Inspections <br />C1980-001 Edna Mine Permit Renewal No. 6 11 <br />