2016-08-29_PERMIT FILE - C1981035A (13)

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Colo 0 University Knowledge to Go Places May 20, 2015 Mike Savage Savage and Savage, Inc. 4610 Haystack Drive Windsor, CO 80550 Dear Mike: The Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) is in receipt of your request for information regarding the area of interest for underground coal mining operations in La Plata County, Colorado. In response, I have searched our Biodiversity Tracking and Conservation System (BIOTICS) for natural heritage elements (occurrences of significant natural communities and rare, threatened or endangered plants and animals) documented from the vicinity of the area specified in your request, specifically within a 1.5 -mile radius of project area as described by the legal description that Savage and Savage, Inc. provided for the project area. The enclosed report describes natural heritage resources known from this area and gives location (by Township, Range, and Section), precision information, and the date of last observation of the element at that location. This report includes elements known to occur within the specified project site, as well as elements known from similar landscapes near the site. Please note that "precision" reflects the resolution of original data. For example, an herbarium record from "4 miles east of Colorado Springs" provides much less spatial information than a topographic map showing the exact location of the occurrence. "Precision" codes of Seconds, Minutes, and General are defined in the footer of the enclosed report. The report also outlines the status of known elements. We have included status according to Natural Heritage Program methodology and legal status under state and federal statutes. Natural Heritage ranks are standardized across the Heritage Program network, and are assigned for global and state levels of rarity. They range from "1" for critically imperiled or extremely rare elements, to "5" for those that are demonstrably secure. You may notice that some occurrences do not have sections listed. Those species have been designated as "sensitive" due to their rarity and threats by human activity. Peregrine falcons, for example, are susceptible to human breeders removing falcon eggs from their nests. For these species, CNHP does not normally provide location information beyond township and range. Please contact us should you require more detailed information for sensitive occurrences. There are no CNHP designated Potential Conservation Areas (PCAs) in the general project vicinity and no Network of Conservation Areas (NCAs). In order to successfully protect populations or occurrences, it is necessary to delineate conservation areas. These conservation areas focus on capturing the ecological processes that are necessary to support the continued existence of a particular element of natural heritage significance. Conservation areas may include a single occurrence of a rare element or a suite of rare elements or significant features.