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Dowe Flats Quarry Site Description and Future Mining Impact Analysis <br /> Two primary wildlife issues were identified during the pre-mining studies at Dowe Flats: prairie <br /> dogs as raptor prey base and big game movement. These issues are discussed in this section <br /> along with threatened and endangered species, other species of concern, and wildlife habitat. <br /> 3.1.1 Prairie Dogs and Raptors <br /> The original Dowe Flats SUP was developed to ensure that reclamation activities would preserve <br /> winter raptor habitat. CEMEX, Inc. conducted winter raptor studies and monitored black-tailed <br /> prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus)populations on the Dowe Flats property for five years after <br /> approval of the SUP. Several prairie dog management actions and policies were included in the <br /> original Dowe Flats Management and Monitoring Plans, and they continue to be followed. <br /> While some prairie dog habitat was destroyed over the years while mining progressed northward, <br /> new prairie dog habitat was created in reclaimed areas. A large population currently resides on <br /> the east side of the mine in the reclaimed grassland and most of the reclaimed grassland was <br /> reclaimed in a manner to support prairie dog establishment. Additionally, several other prairie <br /> dog populations are thriving immediately adjacent to the mine in the Partition Lease Agreement <br /> buffer area. <br /> Table 2: Wildlife Species with Dowe Flats in Their Known Ran e <br /> g <br /> American Bittern Black Bear Bullsnake <br /> Bald Eagle Mountain Lion Common Gartersnake <br /> Band-tailed Pigeon Elk Milksnake <br /> Bobolink Mule Deer North American Racer <br /> Brewer Sparrow White-tailed Deer Northern Watersnake <br /> Brown-capped Rosy Finch White-tailed Jackrabbit Plains Black-headed Snake <br /> Burrowing Owl Black-tailed Prairie Dog Plains Gartersnake <br /> Canada Geese Olive-backed Pocket Mouse Plains Hog-nosed Snake <br /> Cassin Sparrow Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse Prairie Rattlesnake <br /> Golden Eagle Big Brown Bat Six-lined Racerunner <br /> Grasshopper Sparrow Hoary Bat Terrestrial Gartersnake <br /> Great Blue Heron Eastern Red Bat Hernandez's Short-horned Lizard <br /> Lark Bunting Silver-haired Bat Prairie Lizard <br /> Lazuli Bunting Townsend's Big-eared Bat Ornate Box Turtle <br /> Lewis Woodpecker Tri-colored Bat Painted Turtle <br /> Northern Harrier Fringed Myotis Snapping Turtle <br /> Prairie Falcon Little Brown Bat <br /> Rufous Hummingbird Long-eared Myotis <br /> Swainson Hawk Long-legged Myotis <br /> Virginia Warbler Western Small-footed Bat <br /> Wild Turkey <br /> 3.1.2 Big Game <br /> Mule deer(Odocoileus hemionus)and elk(Cervus canadensis) are seasonally present in and <br /> around Dowe Flats. Before mining, concerns about impacts to mule deer due to interruption of <br /> their movement were raised. However, mule deer and elk are both regularly observed using the <br /> reclaimed grassland communities south of the active mining area. White-tailed deer(Odocoileus <br /> Habitat Management, Inc. 8 May 2, 2022 <br />