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Vegetation and Wildlife Habitat <br />With development of the project site as pasture, native vegetation has been largely <br />replaced by pasture grasses, predominantly brome (Bromus sp.). There is no significant <br />developed tree or shrub association within the project site. Scattered individual trees and <br />shrub clumps are present along the Little Cache la Poudre Ditch, irrigation laterals, <br />County Road 54G, and adjacent residential and commercial properties. The prevalent <br />tree and shrub species include plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides), Chinese elm <br />Ulmus pumila), Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), peach-leaf willow (Salix <br />amygdaloides), and coyote willow (Salix exigua). <br />With the exception of the Little Cache la Poudre Ditch which traverses the project site <br />from west to east, there is little cover or significant wildlife habitat within the project site. <br />The Little Cache la Poudre Ditch likely provides a wildlife corridor for species travelling <br />within or immediately adjacent to the ditch banks. The open nature of the project site, <br />with little significant shrub or tree vegetation cover limits the value of avian habitat for <br />nesting. <br />Common vertebrate wildlife to be found within the project area would be those species <br />whose habitat includes agricultural and pastureland sites. For a comprehensive list of <br />mammals, birds, and herptiles potentially inhabiting the project area, reference is made to <br />the CDOW Latilong Studies (CDOW, 1981, 1987, 1990). <br />STUDY METHODS <br />A vehicle and pedestrian survey of the proposed project area was conducted. Searches <br />for avian nests at this time of year are productive due to the lack of obscuring foliage of <br />deciduous trees and shrubs. Visual searches were made of trees, shrubs, tall grasses, and <br />areas on the ground conducive to nesting. Particular attention was paid to large trees, <br />where circumnavigation of the trunk took place to locate any splay, feathers, pellets or <br />Loveland Ready Mix Concrete Page 3 <br />2018 Knox Project Avian Nest Survey