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<br />• Fish and Wildlife <br />Energy Fuels will monitor fish, wildlife, and their habitats throughout the <br />mining period. Should adverse impacts to these resources be detected, the <br />company is required by stipulations to take appropriate action as agreed upon <br />by the regulatory authority. Foidel Creek, the only stream flowing through <br />the proposed permit area, will be protected from adverse effects by a 200-foot <br />buffer zone as required by BLM in the lease stipulations. In addition, the <br />company will sample water quality and aquatic biology to monitor impacts to <br />the stream. The monitoring program for wildlife will consist of monitoring <br />the nesting habits of eagles (yearly), strutting habits of sage grouse <br />(yearly), distribution of elk (approximately 200 on permit area during <br />winter), habitat utilization (elk calving ground), and beaver utilization of <br />the unnamed tributary to Foidel Creek. <br />To provide suitable substitute habitat while mining progresses, the company <br />will transplant tree and shrubs into strips and islands. This will provide <br />cover for wildlife as well as providing an additional seed source for a few <br />shrubs. The low sagebrush community that will be destroyed during mining <br />provides forage for deer in the spring and winter. The temporary loss of this <br />forage area should not affect the deer population adversely because every <br />ridge top in the area contains low sagebrush. <br />During mining Energy Fuels will attempt to relocate the elk calving ground <br />• adjacent to its present location. After mining, the company plans to <br />re-establish the historic calving ground. Based on the technical analysis <br />prepared by the staff, the re-established calving grounds cannot approximate <br />the historic calving ground because of the unique interrelationship among <br />soils, hydrology, and vegetation. Over a long period, deep-rooted shrub <br />species will encroach upon the re-established historic calving ground because <br />the replaced soils will be deeper. Therefore, OSM and the Colorado DOW have <br />determined that there will bean immediate, significant, and unquantifiable <br />adverse impact from the proposed mining operation to the elk herd in the <br />permit area. However, the Colorado DOW and BLM have concluded that there will <br />be no noticeable reduction in the regional (six counties) elk population <br />because overall elk numbers are increasing. Although one elk herd will be <br />directly affected, the impacts to the elk population will be insignificant on <br />a regional basis. <br />To help mitigate the impacts to the elk herd on the permit area, OSM is <br />requiring Energy Fuels to submit (by July 14, 1980) vegetation information, <br />including cover, production, and diversity, associated with the soil type <br />found on the historic elk calving ground. Two months after submitting the <br />above information, the company must provide detailed descriptions of <br />methodologies and criteria used to establish new calving areas and a multiyear <br />monitoring program to evaluate the success of the techniques to re-establish <br />the calving areas. Six months after approval of the mine-plan application, <br />Energy Fuels must submit a narrative (including a map showing watering area <br />• <br />- 16 - <br />