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PMYPP <br /> Migratory Birds <br /> No raptor nests were observed in the study area or within a '/2-mile radius of the study area; however, the call <br /> of a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) was heard in the study area at the time of the survey and the study <br /> area contains Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) summer and winter foraging areas, winter range habitat, and <br /> mapped winter concentration zone (CPW, 2016). Two active nests and one inactive nest, as well as two roost <br /> sites, are mapped within a five-mile radius of the study area (CPW, 2016). There are numerous suitable trees <br /> around the study area that may be used as nesting or roosting sites and there is a potential for raptors to occur <br /> near the study area during migration, nesting, and over the winter. <br /> The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and the Bald and Gold Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) are both <br /> administered by the USFWS and protect nesting migratory birds and Bald and Gold Eagles respectively. If <br /> construction activities were to occur during the nesting season (generally April I — August 31) Pinyon <br /> recommends conducting pre-construction nest surveys. Depending on the outcome of the surveys <br /> coordination with the USFWS or CPW may be required. Due to the potential for MBTA constraints, it is <br /> recommended that the developer follow MBTA nest survey guidelines as outlined by CPW during the nesting <br /> season (CPW, 2008) (included as an Attachment). <br /> General Wildlife <br /> No prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) or signs of other wildlife species not previously mentioned were noted <br /> in the study area. <br /> Waters of the U.S., Including Wetland Areas <br /> Two WUS were identified in the study area, an oxbow of the South Platte River that flows northward and the <br /> Lupton Bottom Ditch, an irrigation ditch that diverts water from Big Dry Creek, a tributary of the South Platte <br /> River, and also flows northward (CDSS, 2015) (Figure 2; Table 2). The South Platte River and Lupton Bottom <br /> Ditch, as well as Big Dry Creek, are all solid blue lines on the USGS Fort Lupton 7.5-minute quadrangle, <br /> indicating they may all be considered jurisdictional by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) (USGS, <br /> 2013). The South Platte River and the eastern off-shoot of the Lupton Bottom Ditch contained surface water <br /> at the time of the survey,and an Ordinary High-Water Mark(OHWM)and wetland areas were mapped (Figure <br /> 2). The western off-shoot of the Lupton Bottom Ditch did not contain surface water at the time of the survey <br /> so the OHWM was not mapped. An additional off-shoot of the Lupton Bottom Ditch is mapped in the study <br /> area on the USGS Fort Lupton 7.5-minute quadrangle; however, there is no evidence of this irrigation ditch <br /> from aerial photography and the absence of this off-shoot of the Lupton Bottom Ditch was confirmed during <br /> the field survey (USGS, 2013). Since this project plans to avoid all riparian and wetland areas it is assumed that <br /> the project activities will not cause water depletions to the South Platte River and/or the Lupton Bottom Ditch. <br /> If construction activities are anticipated to result in water depletions a Section 404 permit from the USACE is <br /> required. <br /> Seven wetland areas, identified by using only wetland vegetation as an indicator for the presence of hydric soils <br /> and wetland hydrology, were observed within the study area (Figure 2; Table 2). Wetland species are assigned <br /> indicator ratings by the USACE based on percentages representing the frequency that a species occurs in a <br /> wetland (Lichvar et al. 2012). Wetland species are ranked: obligate (OBL), occur almost always under natural <br /> conditions in wetlands (99%); facultative wetland (FACW), usually occur in wetlands but occasionally found in <br /> non-wetlands (67-99%); facultative (FAC), equally likely to occur in wetlands and non-wetlands (34-66%); <br /> facultative uplands (FACU), usually occur in non-wetlands but occasionally found in wetlands (1-33%); and <br /> upland (UPL), occur in wetlands in another region, but occur almost always under natural conditions in non- <br /> wetlands in the region specified (I%) (Lichvar et al., 2012; Lichvar et al., 2016).All wetland areas were palustrine <br /> emergent (PEM) wetlands or a combination of PEM and palustrine scrub-shrub (PSS), which means that they <br /> Informal Wetland Delineation and Biological Resources Report <br /> Weld County Gravel Pit Project <br /> November 16, 2017 5 <br />