2018-12-13_PERMIT FILE - M2007003

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ICOLORADO Parks and Wildlife Department of Natural Resources Salida Service Center �r+� 7405 W Highway 50 Salida, CO 81201 DEC 1 P 719.530.5520 1 F 719.539.5554 3 Z018 DIviSIOMOF �Mr.Tim Cazier Afl 'AIDS, Tov -- IY Environmental Protection Specialist Colo. Div.of Reclamation,Mining,and Safety 1313 Sherman Street,Room 215 Denver,Co 80203 Re: Colorado Parks and Wildlife Review and Comments-Yevioli Cobblestone Pit-Fremont County Dear Mr. Cazier, Colorado Parks and Wildlife(CPW)would like to thank you for the opportunity to review the Yevioli Cobblestone Pit expansion. CPW respectfully submits our comments and recommendations based on our review of this project. As always, CPW encourages,through thoughtful design and careful development,any actions that avoid or minimize impacts to wildlife. We believe our recommendations offer the greatest opportunity for avoiding developmental impacts where we believe they may be high and difficult to remedy. At this time CPW has not identified or mapped any terrestrial species of special concern within the proposed expansion site. Mule Deer,Elk,Pronghorn and Black Bear can be found in the proposed area of expansion along with numerous other small game and non-game species. Transitory wildlife,such as raptor nesting sites,could be present within the project area and CPW recommends a pre-construction survey of the area to identify and avoid disturbances to the nest sites if present. Hardscrabble Creek runs through the middle of the proposed expansion site. Riparian corridors such as Hardscrabble Creek and the habitat it provides,is vital to terrestrial and transitory wildlife health. CPW recognizes the potential for impacts to terrestrial and transitory wildlife in the proposed expansion area. As a result,CPW encourages the implementation of any actions that avoid or minimize impacts to terrestrial and transitory wildlife. Hardscrabble Creek within the proposed expansion site is occupied by amphibians and native fish assemblages which include Central Stoneroller(Campostoma anomalum),Longnose Dace(Rhinichthvs cataractae), Fathead Minnow(Pimephales promelas), and White Sucker(Catostomus commersond). Down drainage approximately'/2 mile from the proposed pit expansion site,on Hardscrabble Creek,is the confluence with Low Back Creek. Low Back Creek is home to an assemblage of Southern Redbelly Dace (Chrosomus erythrogaster). Southern Redbelly Dace,a state endangered species,are extremely rare in Colorado. Southern Redbelly Dace have very specific habitat requirements and are thought to be highly sensitive to environmental disturbance. The population that occupies Low Back Creek and portions of Hardscrabble Creek below the proposed site expansion is one of the only known naturally occurring populations left in Colorado. The current population of Southern Redbelly Dace at this locality is the most critical and abundant population CPW is aware of at this time. This data was obtained through cooperation with landowners and extensive surveying through this stream reach. Populations of Southern Redbelly Dace in this drainage are so important to the future of the species in Colorado that several hundred fish from the Low Back Creek drainage were removed to be reared at the Mumma Native Aquatic Species Restoration facility in Alamosa,Colorado for future conservation efforts. The Yevioli Cobblestone Pit Expansion and the potential it presents for erosion and down drainage sedimentation in the Hardscrabble drainage is concerning to CPW due to the presence of the Southern Redbelly Dace. CPW OF C�jO\ Bob D.Broscheid,Director.Colorado Parks and Wildlife•Parks and Wildlife Commission.Robert W.Bray•Matthew Burkett•Charles Garcia•Marie Haskett �P Carrie Besnette Hauser•John Howard.Chair•Marvin McDaniel•Colleen Peppier•Jennifer Rieke Taylor•James Vigil,Secretary•Michelle Zimmerman,Vice-Chair Rf •, �/A76