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i ~ <br />Fish and ;dildli`~• <br />F.ner•~y Fuels will monitor f_sh, wildlife, and ti+cir I~abi[ats thrnugliout the <br />mining period. Should adverse impacts to these r?sources be detected, the <br />company is required by stipulations to ta;:e appropriate action as agreed open <br />b}' the regulatory auch.orit~. Foidel Creel, the only stre::c, flowing through <br />the proposed permit area, ._11 he protected fron adverse effects by z ?OU-foot <br />buffer zone as~requ-ired by 6L?; in the base stip~.~lacions. In addition, the <br />company will sample eater quality and aquatic biology to moni[o: impacts to <br />the stream. The monitoring program for wildlife will consist of mor,i[orir,g <br />the nesting habits o: eagles (yearly}, struttiny; habits of sage Arouse <br />(y earl}'), distribution of elk (appror.imately 2(~G on permit area during <br />winter), habitat utilization (elk calving mound), and beaver utilization of <br />ti+e unnamed tributary to Foidel Cree4:. <br />To provide suita'ole substitute habitat while min_n^ progresses, the compan. <br />wall transplant tree and shru'os into strips and islands. This will provide <br />cover for wildlife as we 11 as providing ar. nddit>onal seed source for a fe•. <br />shrubs. The lo+a sa~ebrusir community [hat w;ll he destroyed during mining <br />provides foraee for der: in the spring and -ir.tcr. Tne ter.,norary loss c` this <br />forage area should nut afiuc[ the deer population adversely because every <br />ridge top ir. the area contains low sagebrush. <br />~~II( During mining Energ}~ Fuels will atcer,~pt [o relocate the e14; calving ground <br />~Y, adjacent to its present location. After mini m, the co npa nv plans to <br />re-establish the historic calving ground. Based on the tec'nnical analsis <br />prepared by the s[a_f, tl+e re-established calyinr, hrnunds cannot approximate <br />the historic calving ;round because of [he uninur~ interrcLntinnship among <br />soils, hydro lcg,o, a,~d vegetation. Gvo_r a lnn,~ period, deep-rooted shrub <br />species will encrcucl: upon the re-establis;~ea h;c[o:ic c:,lving ground Ywcause <br />the replaced soils will h^_ deeper. Tiieretnrc, r)S:t and the Colorado U7d have <br />determined that ['pore will be an immediate, significant, and unquantifiable <br />adverse impact from the proposed mining operatirn+ to the elk herd in the <br />permit area. However, the Colorado DUW and RL`; h:~ee concluded [hat there will <br />be no noticeable reduction in the regional (Si>: counties) elk population <br />because overall ells numbers are increasing. klt}+ough one e14; herd will ~oe <br />directly affected, the it:pacts [o the e14; population c.'i11 he insignificant or, <br />a regional basis- <br />To help mitigate the impacts to the el}; herd on the perr„i[ area, OS'; is <br />requiring Energ}• Fue'_s to submit (by .iu]y 14, lyBU) vegetation information, <br />including cover, production, and diversity, associated with the soil type <br />found on the historic elk calving ground. Two mnnthr after submitting the <br />abo•ae information, Ihr company mu s[ provido acrailed dee.criptions of <br />methodnlogiec and cr~.teria used to establish new calving area. and a multiyear <br />monitoring promac. to evaluate [he succer.s of ;h,~ teci+niques [o re-e•,taF.list: <br />ttie calving, wrens. Si s. months after app meal of the nine-plan application, <br />Energp Fuels must submit a narrative (incl::din„ n map showing watering area <br />- .i 6 - <br />