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"Coal Creek Basin has provided very good <br /> wildlife habitat throughout the 1900 ' s . Habitats <br /> have been diverse, with mountain grassland , aspen, <br /> conifer, and oak vegetation abundant and in good <br /> justaposition with each other . Some riparian and <br /> alpine vegetation also contribute to habitat <br /> diversity . . . <br /> "Range conditions have always been good in <br /> Coal Basin, except for areas of high natural <br /> erosion, and some small over-grazed areas dating <br /> to the early 1940 ' s . Corrective management has <br /> improved range conditions since 1945, and present <br /> stocking levels are one-fourth lower than at that <br /> time . With management, range quality should <br /> improve in the future, but as a result of natural <br /> succession grasslands in Coal Basin are very <br /> slowly converting to aspen and conifer forests , <br /> therefore reducing the quantity of grassland <br /> range . " <br /> Source : "Past and Present Condition <br /> of Range and Wildlife Resources <br /> in Coal Basin ." U . S . Forest <br /> Service . <br /> Future mining activity will have no greater <br /> effect than past and present mining activity on the Coal <br /> Basin as a wildlife habitat . <br /> 3 . Plant Communities <br /> Studies during two growing seasons at the Coal <br /> Basin indicate there are 239 vascular plant species , of <br /> which a vast majority are native species which are typical <br /> of the region. <br /> Dominant lifeforms are: <br /> Trees -- 9 species ; <br /> Shrubs and subshrubs -- 28 species ; <br /> Forbs -- 152 species ; <br /> Graminoids -- 50 species . <br /> Only fourteen introduced species , including grasses <br /> widely used in reclamation or range improvement , and aggres- <br /> -7- <br />