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SPECIES OF CONCERN <br />Table 11-45 lists the vertebrate species of concern that could potentially occur in the extension area. This <br />list includes possible residents as well as species that could migrate through the area. For each species, <br />information is provided regarding habitat potential, expected frequency of occurrence, State rank, and any <br />Federal or State status. A supplement to this table has been prepared to include updates through 12/2016 <br />from the Colorado Natural Heritage Program. <br />Nine of the species on Table 11-45 have been observed on or near the extension area. This includes <br />species listed as observed during previous Seneca IIW baseline studies. No suitable breeding habitat is <br />present for two of the nine species observed: the great blue heron, Ardea herodias (riparian woodlands), <br />and the northern goshawk, Accipiter gentilis, (coniferous forest). Breeding by four other species is known <br />or probable. As previously noted, sharp -shinned hawks nested on the area in 19997, and northern <br />harriers, Cooper's hawks, and golden eagles were likely nesters. <br />Breeding potential for the remaining three species of concern; sandhill crane, Grus Canadensis, <br />loggerhead shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, and northern leopard frog, Rana pipiens, is uncertain. <br />Bottomland habitat along Hubberson Gulch could support breeding leopard frogs. Beaver ponds maintain <br />water in the drainage year-round. There is a possibility that sandhill cranes could occupy such habitat as <br />well, or even other bottomland areas. A vegetation ecologist reported a pair of sandhill cranes frequenting <br />the vicinity of the upland ponds in the SW'/4 SE'/4, Section 27, and NW'/4 NE'/4, Section 34 in July 1997 <br />(D. Buckner, personal communication). No young birds, however, were seen with the adults. Breeding <br />pairs of sandhill cranes have been observed in isolated high -elevation drainages several miles east of the <br />extension area, on and adjacent to the Seneca II Mine affected area (PRES 1996a). There is a remote <br />possibility that sandhill cranes could nest off the eastern or western margins of the extension area. <br />The loggerhead shrike was recorded during previous baseline studies at the Seneca IIW Mine. Mountain <br />brush habitat interspersed with open foraging areas would seem to be suitable habitat for loggerhead <br />shrikes. None were observed, however, during an extensive 1993 baseline study in very similar habitat a <br />few miles northeast of the expansion area (SCC"s Yoast property, PRES, 1994). A specific three-day <br />survey of that same area in June 1996 also failed to locate any shrikes (PRES, 1996b). <br />Apart from the sandhill crane, as discussed above, no Federally -listed or State -listed threatened or <br />endangered species would be expected to breed on the extension area. As previously noted, no nesting <br />habitat for the peregrine falcon exists on or adjacent to the area, and bald eagles are solely winter <br />residents or transients of nearby large drainages. Ferruginous hawks may pass over the area during <br />migration, but this species typically nests in lower elevation rangelands, not in foothills shrublands. The <br />wolverine (Gulo gulo) and lynx (Lynx lynx) potentially occur in the mountains of Northwest Colorado, <br />but are likely extirpated from the area. Both species are wide-ranging, and it is possible that individuals <br />might move through or reoccupy the region at some point in time. <br />39 12/07/16 <br />