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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I XI.5 LAND AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY According to the petition agreement, pipelines located on land owned by persons who will receive water will not receive payment for right-of-way. The pump stations for the new irrigated land will be on Dove Creek Canal right-of-way and no additional easements or land are expected to be needed. XI. 6 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS Montezuma County has a total land area of approximately 1.4 million acres of which roughly one-third are private land, one-third Ute Mountain Ute Tribal land, and one-third state and federal lands. The population of the county is about 23,000 people. Approximately 45,000 acres of farmland in the county have adequate irrigation water and many qualify as prime farmland. Much of the farmland is located between Cortez and Dove Creek; major crops are alfalfa, dry beans, wheat, and pasture. Conversion of dry land cropland to irrigated cropland may have slight benefits to wildlife due to increases in wetlands. Irrigation systems in that area, however, are very efficient and wetlands and other habitat created by irrigation tail water and seepage would be limited. The Gunnison Sage Grouse is a species of special concern that may occur in the project area. This species has been in decline, presumably due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Habitat includes large expanses of sagebrush with a diversity of grasses, forbs and healthy riparian areas. In the project area habitat fragmentation and reduction in the quality of remaining habitat are likely problems for this species. Irrigation of existing dry1and farmland is not likely to impact this species negatively. In the region, there are a variety of fish and wildlife habitats that reflect the diverse topography and climate that occur in a relatively small geographical area. The Dolores River and tributaries headwater in the mountains then drop rapidly into areas of plateaus and mesas. Major wildlife habitats of the watershed range from alpine tundra, aspen and spruce-fir forests in the mountains to pinon-juniper woodlands, semi-desert shrub land, and grasslands at low elevations. A diversity of riparian-wetland habitats occurs along streams and in association with some irrigation systems. Streams at upper elevations support trout fisheries; at lower elevations fisheries are limited by increased diversions of water for irrigation and warmer temperatures. Reservoirs such as McPhee, Totten, and Narraguinnep support warm and cool water fisheries that are managed by the Colorado Division of Wildlife. McElmo Creek's sport fishery is limited by sediment, high summer temperatures, and widely fluctuating flows. Native fish species include flannelmouth and b1uehead suckers and speckled dace. Non-native fish are also found, including common carp and fathead minnows. Threatened and endangered species that could occur in the project area include the Mancos mi1k- vetch, Knowlton's cactus, Mesa Verde cactus, bald eagle, southwestern willow flycatcher, Mexican spotted owl, and black-footed ferret. Bald eagles overwinter in the area and regularly use the Dolores River downstream from McPhee. The Mexican spotted owl is known to nest in Mesa Verde National Park, while southwestern willow flycatchers have been recorded in various 17