was studied in less detail than the others. Data gathering in this area was 

 directed toward: 



1. Defining critical sites, primary use areas, or major biota in the area 

 such that any later changes in study area boundaries would not make the general 

 baseline results inappropriate; 



2. Setting the context for study of the areas more intensively studied; 

 and 



3. Providing a baseline for plant siting and assessment of impacts asso- 

 ciated with the coal conversion facility or transportation related to coal min- 

 ing and coal conversion. 



Throughout this report, the term "study area" refers to the reconnaissance 

 study area. 



OBJECTIVES AND APPROACH OF THE WILDLIFE BASELINE STUDY 



The overall objectives of the wildlife baseline study were to: 



1. Describe the wildlife resource as it exists in and around the project 

 area prior to mining, with special emphasis on certain "key" species; 



2. Determine the distribution and quality of habitats and their relation 

 to terrestrial vertebrate communities over a twelve-month period; 



3. Obtain detailed baseline information on certain parameters describing 

 the ecology of species or communities which are most likely to change measur- 

 ably as a result of the proposed facility or are of relatively greatest con- 

 cern for use in predicting and monitoring impacts; and 



4. Establish a program for long-term monitoring of these parameters in 

 order to document short-term and long-term impacts which may result from the 

 proposed facility. 



This study has been designed to meet these objectives as well as to gather 

 the data required by all agencies concerned with the proposed facility, and 

 especially those data required by the DNRC as specified in the Major Facility 

 Siting Act and the Department of State Lands (DSL) pursuant to the Strip Mine 

 Siting and Strip Mine Reclamation Acts. The information required by DNRC is 

 related primarily to plant siting and to assessment of impacts to the wildlife 

 resource resulting from construction and operation of the conversion facility. 

 The information required by DSL, however, is related to the impacts of strip- 

 mining of coal, which requires a much more intensive twelve-month study of a 

 substantially smaller area. For this reason, several levels of intensity of 

 study were incorporated into the study design, as described earlier. 



A holistic approach was taken in designing this study in an effort to 

 describe terrestrial ecosystem and community relations to the fullest extent 

 possible. As a consequence, much of the field effort was expended in study 

 of non-game species, by far the most diverse and abundant group overall, and 



