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Colorado along the Yampa River. One bald eagle was reported to have flown over the nearby Seneca II Mine in 1978. (Golden eagles have been noted in large numbers at nearby mine sites primarily feeding on rabbits taken from reclaimed elopes). HGTI'e application states that, should HGTI build any new power transmission facilities at the site, that they will be built in accordance with "Suggested Practices for Aaptor Protection on Power Lines. The State of the Art in 1981". It appears, however, that the existing facilities were not constructed to those standards. In talking to Jerry Craig of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, his opinion was that if there were any problems associated with the power facilities at the loadout, that they would have been detected and mitigated by this time. Whoooing crane According to Jim Morrie of the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW), there have been one or two whooping crane sightings in Western Colorado which have been reported to CDOW, Neither sighting was in the vicinity of the loadout. Jerry Craig of CDOW reported to me that whooping cranes do occasionally hit power lines but that they are usually found close to the river or found feeding in grain fields. According to your letter of December 10, 1992, whooping cranes have been sighted in the Hayden area in recent years perhaps migrating through the area in the spring and fall with annual sandhill crane migration. In regards to the state-endangered sandhill crane, HGTI's application notes that: "The state-endangered greater sandhill crane (Grus canadenais) is known to utilize the Yampa River Valley for migration and for dancing and staging areas. The Yampa River north of the proposed permit area is a migration zone, and the area east of the permit area near the Hayden Power Station is designated ae a dancing ground and migration zone. Except for the rare transient that might cross the permit area, the migration zones and dancing areas are sufficiently distant to preclude any potential impacts. The nearest dancing ground and migration zone is located approximately 2.5 miles east of the loadout permit boundary." Nothing is mentioned about the possible presence of whooping cranes in association with sandhill cranes. The lack of grain crops, appropriate wetlands (please see descriptions of aquatic areas saline/alkaline wet meadows, above) and the limited extent of wetlands in the area may preclude the presence of either crane. Loggerhead shrike The loggerhead shrike was not mentioned in HGTI'e application. Jerry Craig of CDOW informed me that the loggerhead shrike breeds in shrub\grasslands, including in the salt tolerant ecosystems. The permit area is within the range of this species. Northern goshawk Nothing ie mentioned in HGTI's permit application about the northern goshawk. It might be presumed that goshawks are absent from the areas in and adjacent to the permit area due to the absence of trees in the vicinity of the loadout or riparian areas dominated by trees or treelike shrubs. [Peregrine falcons (present at Dinosaur National Monument) are mentioned in the application, where any presence would probably be only as a result of a migratory flyover. High cliffs are not present in the vicinity of the loadout.)