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Topography within this habitat consists of gentle to moderately steep rolling hills with planer to <br />concave surfaces and benches. Topography within the permit area has been influenced by cut <br />and fill activities associated with construction of the rail spur. <br />Aquatic Areas. Aquatic habitat is limited to the surface area of ponds and the Dry Creek stream <br />channel. Dry Creek is characterized as intermittent within the reach which bisects the permit <br />area. For mapping purposes, wet portions of Dry Creek are included within the saline /alkaline <br />wet meadow map unit (see Exhibit 11 -1). The ponds contain water during some portions of most <br />years, as evidenced by the presence of aquatic macrophytes and emergents within and <br />surrounding the ponds. <br />Habitats of Adjacent Areas. The permit area south of the haul road is bounded by agricultural <br />areas and upland shrublands. The permit area is bounded on the west by abandoned cropland <br />that has been reseeded with introduced cool season graminoids, small parcels of saline /alkaline <br />shrublands, active dryland agricultural areas, and residential /light industrial areas (the Routt <br />County road and Bridge Department maintenance shop and the West Routt Rural Fire District <br />training facility). Residential/light industry has replaced abandoned croplands and shrublands <br />along the permit boundary to the west of the rail spur and the Yampa Valley Regional Airport. <br />Improved pasture borders the rail spur in Section 10. <br />Fish and Wildlife Resources <br />Mammals. Table 11 -2, Mammal Species of Possible Occurrence in the Hayden Gulch Loadout <br />Permit Area, presents a list of mammalian species that could occur within or adjacent to the <br />Hayden Gulch Loadout permit area. The list was derived from the Colorado Mammal <br />Distribution Lat/Long Study (Bissel and Dillion, 1992), by cross - referencing the habitat <br />designations used in the study with those found in and surrounding the permit area. The SARB <br />and DS designations in Table 11 -2 correspond to the saline /alkaline shrublands habitat <br />previously described. The MS habitat in Table 11 -2 corresponds to the saline /alkaline wet <br />meadow type, and the Cr designation corresponds to disturbed lands and agricultural areas. <br />Aerial censusing of big game species has been conducted over the TAHR by Seneca Coal <br />Company in the past. Flight lines overlap a large portion of the Loadout permit area (see Exhibit <br />11 -1 A, Big Game Aerial Census Observations). Table 11 -2A, Summary of Big Game Aerial <br />Survey data for the Haul Road Study Area, 1979, presents results of the initial survey. The <br />Annual Reclamation Reports prepared for the Seneca II -W Mine document big game <br />observations in the vicinity of the TAHR prior to the transfer to Hayden Gulch in 2011. <br />PR -01 4 Revised 10 /11 <br />