2020-06-24_REVISION - C1981035 (2)

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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT V-3. Hay and/or straw mulch would be employed in areas where wind or water erosion is of significant concern. Such areas may include channel bottoms and hillside slopes. Any hay or straw employed would be certified as native and weed and pest free in accordance with U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations. Hay or straw mulch would be applied at a rate of two (2)tons per acre and crimped or disked into the surface of the soil. Application would be perpendicular to the predominant wind direction and/or the direction of surface water flow. V-4. The presence of noxious weeds and plant pests would be monitored annually during the summer. Management measures would be undertaken where a single or combination of noxious weed species or plant pests would comprise or show a deleterious effect to more than ten (10) percent of the live vegetation. Further,where noxious weed species or plant pests constitute more than 25 percent relative vegetation cover in an area of 500 square ft or such area shows depredation or plant impacts of the same magnitude, such area would be identified as a patch, and subject to management measures, irrespective of the percentage of overall noxious weed cover in the mitigation area. V-5. Noxious weeds or plant pests would be controlled by any combination of cultural, mechanical, biological, or chemical measures. Weed control measures would be developed specifically for the noxious weed species encountered and in conjunction with the local weed control district and/or the Colorado State Department of Agriculture. Where noxious weed control measures cause disturbance to the remaining vegetation, seeding or planting of desirable replacement vegetation would occur during the first normal planting or seeding season after weed control measures have been implemented. Wildlife WL-1. Conservation practices to significantly reduce or avoid direct and indirect effects to migratory birds and their habitats would be implemented such as: avoiding disturbance in known high quality habitats (especially concentrated nesting areas); limiting disturbances to the minimum necessary; planning disturbances to avoid habitats that are unique, rare, or in limited supply; avoiding new disturbances in large intact unfragmented habitat blocks; or planning activities seasonally to minimize disturbance or disruption to nesting and breeding periods based on species potentially affected. WL-2.Any disturbances during the nesting season in potential or suitable habitats for migratory birds would require pre-disturbance clearance surveys conducted within 7 days prior to the disturbance to detect any newly arriving nesting birds. WL-3. If active nests with eggs or young are located within a Project disturbance area, disturbance restrictive buffers around those nests would be implemented or projects would be delayed until all young have fledged. Buffer distances for bird species would be developed in coordination with OSMRE and the USFWS. Seasonal disturbance timing limitations would be adjusted to match the habitat types and likely species of concern for proposed activities that could impact nesting periods. Air Quality AQ-1. Dust generated by coal truck traffic would be minimized through a variety of measures including applying water and magnesium chloride solution to unpaved road surfaces, reducing truck speeds on unpaved surfaces, and covering coal loads to eliminate blown coal dust.