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�o o Transit Mix Concrete Co. <br /> E-23 that includes the project area) "in particular, has the potential to be outstanding elk habitat, but <br /> has become heavily overgrown with pinion-juniper, ponderosa, and spruce-fir forests that currently <br /> aren't as productive for elk as they would be if treated with fire or thinning projects." (Grigg, 2012). <br /> Habitat mapping by CPW (Figure 3D) includes a red line that crossed State Highway 115 from Fort <br /> Carson to the Hitch Rack Ranch property; however,this line is "A subjective indication of the general <br /> direction of the movements of migratory ungulate herds" (Grigg, 2012). There are multiple similar lines <br /> north and south of the project area suggesting the project area is within a broad landscape for general <br /> movement patterns of ungulates. The DAU E-23 maps include areas specifically mapped as migration <br /> corridors, but there are none in the quarry area. The Hitch Rack Ranch area is included in the mapped <br /> "Overall Range" and "Winter Range", but it is not within a mapped winter concentration area or severe <br /> winter range. The Overall Range for elk extends throughout all of western Colorado, and the Winter <br /> Range in the DAU E-23 area includes an area over 200,000 acres. The quarry area is also not a <br /> production area or resident population area. These areas critical to elk survivability all occur to the <br /> southeast of the quarry area on Fort Carson or west-southwest of the quarry area on the Beaver Creek <br /> WSA. None of the quarry area or the Little Turkey Creek drainage upstream from the quarry area is <br /> included in these areas either. These important ungulate ranges and population/production areas do <br /> not exist in the project area and will not be impacted by quarry development. Furthermore, migration <br /> along Little Turkey Creek is already compromised by the presence of homes east and west of the project <br /> area. Thus, impacts to elk population and range are minimal and implementation of the mining and <br /> reclamation plans may actually improve elk habitat and population. <br /> E-23 Posthunt Population Estimate <br /> 4500 <br /> 4000 <br /> � 3500 <br /> p3000 <br /> CL <br /> 2500 <br /> 2000 <br /> O 1500 <br /> a 1000 <br /> 500 <br /> 0 <br /> - <br /> �PosthuntPopulation Estimate —CurrentObJ <br /> Figure 10. Posthunt population estimate for E-23. <br /> (Grigg, 2012) <br /> Hitch Rack Ranch Quarry Response to Comments <br /> March 9, 2018 10 <br />