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salvage volumes for each soil type, are shown on Map 2.04.9-3 of the application. <br /> <br />Vegetation – Section 2.04.10 of the permit <br /> <br />The natural vegetation in the Nucla area is pinyon-juniper woodland and sagebrush shrubland. <br />More than100 years of intensive agriculture in the area has resulted in there being only scattered <br />remnants of the native vegetation types. Prior to agricultural conversion, sagebrush shrublands <br />occupied the park-like areas with deeper soils and more gentle slopes, while the more broken <br />upland areas with shallow, coarse textured soils were occupied by the pinyon-juniper woodlands. <br /> <br />In the baseline survey, six major plant community types were delineated within the New Horizon <br />North Mine area, as shown on Map 2.04.10-1 Permit Area Vegetation Map. The six types are: <br />Topsoiled Reclamation (REC), Big Sagebrush (SB), Irrigated Pasture (IP), Dryland Pasture <br />(DP), Intensively Managed Irrigated Pasture (IMIP), and Wetlands (WET). The pre-mine area <br />was intensively developed for agricultural uses, and also includes minor acreages of roads, <br />residential / agricultural disturbances, and livestock ponds. <br /> <br />Following delineation of the plant community types, transects for sampling were generated; plant <br />cover, production, and shrub density were evaluated along the transects. Vegetation sampling <br />was conducted for the mining area between October 2008 and August 2009, and for the <br />equipment corridor between August and November 2009. Reference areas intended for use in <br />evaluating the revegetation success of Irrigated Pasture and Dryland Pasture were also sampled. <br />The Intensively Managed Irrigated Pasture on the Garvey property was sampled twice more: in <br />June 2010 and June 2011, with the intention of using the historical production as the revegetation <br />success standard for this type. Map 2.04.10-2 shows the vegetation communities existing on <br />lands surrounding the proposed permit area. <br /> <br />The potential for impacts to threatened or endangered plant species was investigated by WFC, <br />and they conclude that the unique habitat types associated with these species are lacking for this <br />area. None of the species were encountered, and they determined that it is highly unlikely, if not <br />impossible, for them to be found at the NHN Mine site. <br /> <br />Fish and Wildlife – Section 2.04.11 of the permit <br /> <br />A large variety of wildlife utilize the area surrounding the New Horizon North Mine including <br />coyotes, fox, mule deer, elk (in the winter) and numerous bird species. No federally listed <br />threatened or endangered plant or animal species or any critical habitats of such species are <br />known to occur in the proposed mining area and there is an extremely remote possibility that this <br />action will cause any impacts to these species. No state listed threatened or endangered plant or <br />animal species or any critical habitats of such species are known to occur in this area. However, <br />there is the potential that the Burrowing Owl (Threatened species in Colorado) might be found in <br />this area and a special monitoring plan with operational considerations is being implemented to <br />address this species. <br /> <br />Prime Farmland Investigation – Section 2.04.12 of the permit <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />15 <br /> <br />