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The general area contains important winter range for both elk and deer, and over 10,000 <br />hunter days per year are spent in this area. Golden eagles have been observed near the <br />mine site, but no threatened or endangered wildlife species have been observed. The North <br />Fork ofthe Gunnison River containstwelve (12) species of fish, including three (3) species <br />of game fish (rainbow trout, brown trout, and northern pike). However, due to the poor <br />production of benthic organisms and poor habitat conditions, the North Fork is not stocked <br />frequently. <br />Impacts to wildlife are minimized by prohibiting public use of trails when big game are <br />concentratedin the winter (December Ito April 16), and by prohibitingthe cutting of snags <br />except those within the actual disturbed area required for construction, thereby minimizing <br />the loss of perches and nesting trees for raptors, insectivorous birds, and cavity nesters. <br />Power lines and other transmission facilities are designed and constructedto protectraptors <br />and other large birds from electrocution. Construction activities (heavy equipment, <br />helicopters, blasting etc.) are prohibited within one-quarter mile of any golden eagle nest <br />during the nesting period (March 1 to July 1). <br />The construction of the west portal facilities disturbed a short stretch of East Roatcap <br />Creek. Carefully designed sediment control measures were used to protect the stream <br />channel. The operator has agreed to compensate for any impacts to riparian areas by <br />improving adjacent areas. <br />In contactingthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) three endangeredfish species <br />were noted as potentially being impacted indirectly by the operation: <br />Federally Listed Species <br />Colorado squawfish Ptychocheilus lucius <br />Humpback chub Gila cypha <br />Bonytail chub Gila elegans <br />While the proposed activity is not directly located in areas currently occupied by any of <br />the above fishes, the USFWS believes that any depletion ofwater from the Upper Colorado <br />River Basin (UCRB) may have negative impacts on these endangered fishes. Simply put, <br />water that leaves the UCRB before reaching habitat areas for listed fishes may actually <br />cause cumulative deterioration of downstream, occupied habitat. In this may depletions <br />are thought to contribute to the fishes' decline. <br />The operator submitted a report of the potential for depletions to the UCRB as part of the <br />Orchard Valley (Bowie No. 1) West Mine permit revision request. The Division agreed <br />with those findings. T he operator predicted that 26.7 acre feet of water could be depleted <br />by the operation. The Office of Surface Mining relayed this information to the USFWS. <br />This impact is minimal but was be mitigated by the operator through financial <br />compensation to a FW S fund setup for the endangered species. Both OSM and FW S are <br />satisfied with this arrangement, which is in use for other Federal projects impacting the <br />UCRB. Stipulation No. 42, attachedto the 1993 Permit RenewalNo. 2 document, required <br />35 <br />