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A ERC Strear soil Mine <br /> Preliminary Environmental Assessment <br /> Y <br /> Photo 7.View of the northeastern portion of the survey area Photo 8.View of Farmers Independent Ditch,facing west of <br /> from County Road 29,comprised of cultivated cropland. from the northeast corner of the survey area. <br /> S n SCRFFNING MFTHn_D0►OGv <br /> A preliminary desktop review was conducted utilizing existing available mapping to identify natural <br /> habitats or features within survey area. The latest aerial imagery (GoogleEarth), U.S. Geological Survey <br /> (USGS) topographic maps, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wetland Inventory (NWI) <br /> mapping and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) data were reviewed. General extents and <br /> characterization of natural habitats or features were documented and sketched onto project base <br /> mapping as part of the initial review. <br /> ERC completed an onsite evaluation on June 26, 2024 to identify, map, and evaluate natural habitats or <br /> features within the survey area. Specifically, the purpose of the evaluation was to evaluate the potential <br /> habitat and/or absence of habitat for threatened and endangered (T&E) species within the survey area, <br /> aquatic resources (wetlands and other potential Waters of the US), or other ecologically sensitive areas. <br /> Final mapping of natural habitats or features and buffer zones was conducted in GIS using photo <br /> interpretation of aerial photography, overlay of GPS data points, and digitization of field maps. <br /> 4.0 EXISTING VEGETATION COMMUNITIE-S <br /> Two primary vegetation communities exist across the entire survey area and are comprised of Cultivated <br /> Cropland and Disturbed. The vegetation communities characterized within the survey area are degraded <br /> based on natural vegetation associations in the region (NatureServe 2024). The survey area has been <br /> disturbed by historic and current land use practices, including agriculture and mining, and thus <br /> represents somewhat of a degraded form of the community. The following is a summary of the <br /> vegetation communities within the survey area. Refer to Figure 2 for a map of the vegetation <br /> communities. <br /> Cultivated Cropland <br /> The cultivated cropland community within the survey area is characterized as a non-natural system <br /> which includes lands used for the production of annual crops where crop vegetation accounts for <br /> greater than 20 percent of the total vegetation and where the land is actively tilled.This community also <br /> 4 <br />