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Vegetation, Wildlife and Land Use <br />Four vegetation communities are presently found in the proposed permit area: Upland sagebrush, Juniper - <br />Pinon woodland, grassland and disturbed grassland. The Native Grassland reference areas will apply to all <br />of the Native Grassland community, mapped in 1991 and 1992. The Sagebrush Rangeland community <br />mapped in 1991 (Mining Area Nos. 1 and 2) was matched to SREF A. Therefore, this reference area <br />alone will be used to determine revegetation success for all disturbed Sagebrush Rangeland areas mapped <br />in 1991 and disturbed by Mining Area Nos. 1 or 2. Sagebrush Rangeland community areas mapped as a <br />part of the 1992 study and disturbed by Mining Area No. 3 will be assessed for revegetation success using <br />SREF A and SREF B, as described in the baseline report. Finally, the Juniper- Pifion woodland <br />community will be assessed for revegetation success using the Sagebrush Rangeland reference area <br />scheme. The 1991 areas (Mining Areas Nos. 1 and 2) can be matched to SREF A. The 1992 areas <br />(Mining Area No. 3) will be matched to the SREF A/SREF B combination. Because the reclaimed areas <br />may be composed of portions of all three communities, each area will be assessed for success using the <br />weighted averages method of comparison outlined in Rule 4.15.7(4)(b). A revegetation success standard <br />will be used for species diversity. <br />The upland sagebrush community is dominated by Big sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata), <br />Needle - and - thread grass (Stipa comata) and Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis). Other grasses include sand <br />dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus), Squirrel -tail (Elymus elymoides), Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis <br />hymenoides) and Galleta (Hilaria jamesii). <br />The grassland community consists basically of the same grass species found in the upland sagebrush <br />community. <br />The juniper- pifion community is dominated by Utah juniper (Sabina osteosperma), Big sagebrush, Pifion <br />pine (Pinus edulus), and the same grasses mentioned above. <br />The pre - mining land uses of the area were for cattle grazing and wildlife habitat. The mine area and <br />surrounding area were used by a large variety of wildlife including coyotes, fox, mule deer, elk (in the <br />winter) and numerous bird species. <br />Description of the Operation and Reclamation Plan <br />Operations for the Hamilton Mine have ceased with the exception of reclamation activities. Mining <br />operations were conducted for approximately one year and the fmal blasting occurred on June 3, 1993. <br />All coal was shipped to the Nucla Power Plant and in September, 1993, final reclamation of the site <br />commenced. Reclamation activities were completed that fall, and all 92 acres of disturbed land were <br />seeded. The site was re- seeded again in the fall of 1995 due to drought -like conditions in 1994 and 1995. <br />Operations on the Hamilton Mine were conducted according to plans in section 2.05 of the permit. The <br />Hamilton Mine recovered coal from two mining areas (1 and 3), although they were permitted to mine in <br />three areas. Mine area one is in the north part of the permit area, mine area two to the south, and the third <br />mine area lies to the east. <br />Coal was trucked from the mine via county roads GG 25 and HH 31 for delivery to the buyer. At a coal <br />production rate of 350,000 tons per year, the mine had an expected life of approximately 7 years, from <br />April 3, 2012 <br />RN4 <br />9 <br />