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level of detail of wildlife information and studies necessary to satisfy the requirements of CMLRD Rules Section
<br />2.04.11 for the Twentymile Coal Company's (TCC) Foidel Creek Mine Life -of -Mine permit revision application.
<br />Based on discussions at this meeting, six items of wildlife concern were identified, along with the level of detail
<br />required by the agencies for each item of concern. It was also concluded that if these items were studied and
<br />addressed to the identified levels in the application, the basic requirements of Section 2.04.11 would be satisfied.
<br />The following topics of study or concern were identified:
<br />1) Continued monitoring and protection of sage grouse leks
<br />2) Conduct field. vegetation studies in conjunction with snow depth analysis on sagebrush to determine where
<br />critical winter range for sage grouse exists
<br />3) Conduct a spring nesting survey of sandhill cranes
<br />4) Check permit boundary and potential areas of disturbance against CDOW maps to determine if any critical
<br />big -game winter range may be impacted
<br />5) Investigate benefits of a mass transit system for transport of workers from main portal to shafts
<br />6) Monitor and record big -game road -kills on county haulroad from main portal to tipple during first year of
<br />mine operation. If road -kills become excessive, then meet with CDOW to decide on mitigation measures
<br />Following the consultation meeting, the Applicant submitted a letter to the CMLRD, CDOW, and Office of Surface
<br />Mining (OSM) outlining the results of this meeting and the general level of wildlife information requested. This
<br />letter and letters of response and concurrence from the CMLRD, CDOW, and OSM are contained in Exhibit 17,
<br />Letters of Regulatory Concurrence on Level of Detail of Required Wildlife Information.
<br />In the spring of 1984 the Applicant contracted the services of Cedar Creek Associates (CCA) in Fort Collins,
<br />Colorado, to conduct wildlife studies and prepare wildlife permit sections for TCC's Foidel Creek Mine. Field
<br />studies were initiated in April, 1984, and completed in July, 1984.
<br />The following sections describe the study methodologies employed by CCA, and also list other pertinent studies
<br />and documents that were reviewed for use in compiling species lists and describing the general faunal and habitat
<br />characteristics of the permit area.
<br />WILDLIFE BASELINE METHODOLOGY
<br />Numerous fish and wildlife resource investigations have been conducted in the vicinity of the Twentymile Park
<br />permit area. In 1975 a Dames and Moore study (Exhibit 18, Baseline Environmental Report for Proposed Coal
<br />Mine Expansion) examined terrestrial fauna in Sections 1, 12, 13, and portions of Sections 2, 11 and 14, T5N,
<br />R86W; Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 17 and 18, T5N, R85W; Sections 25, 36 and portions of Sections 26 and 35, T6N R86W;
<br />and Sections 30, 31 and 32, T6N, R85W. Additional wildlife inventories were conducted in the vicinity of the
<br />permit area by ERT/I?cology Consultants, Inc. in 1979 (Exhibit 19, Fish and Wildlife Resources Information,
<br />Eckman Park Permit Area).
<br />Aquatic monitoring studies have been conducted on Fish Creek, Foidel Creek and Middle Creek (Exhibit 20,
<br />Aquatic Biological Survey of Middle Creek and Fish Creek Area, Exhibit 21, Aquatic Biology Survey of Foidel
<br />Creek and its Unnamed Tributary, and Exhibit 22, Aquatic Biology Monitoring Survey of Foidel Creek): This
<br />yearly monitoring of macrophytes, fish and benthic invertebrates was terminated on December 6, 1982 when the
<br />CMLRD approved a request by the Applicant to curtail the aquatic monitoring program because the Applicant and
<br />the CDOW felt that existing data was sufficient and additional monitoring was redundant and unnecessary. The
<br />Applicant's biologists have also gathered a large amount of wildlife resource information (Johnson 1980 to 1984).
<br />In addition to these site- specific studies, the Environmental Assessment Report for federal coal compiled by the
<br />BLM (1979) addressed. adjacent areas northwest of the proposed permit area, including portions of Sections 2 and
<br />3, T5N, R86W, and Sections 34 and 35, T6N, R86W. Detailed habitat requirements of all major wildlife
<br />• species on the proposed permit area were presented by the USFWS (1978).
<br />RN08 -05 2.04 -62 03/12/10
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