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WILDLIFE RESOURCES ASSESSMENT <br />DUCKWORTN PIT, WELD COUNTY, COLORADO <br />Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei) <br />The Preble's meadow jumping mouse (Preble's) is currently listed as a threatened <br />species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and is a state listed threatened species. <br />Typically, this mouse occurs in low undergrowth consisting of grasses and forbs, in open <br />wet meadows, riparian corridors near forests, or where tall shrubs and ]ow trees provide <br />adequate cover (Armstrong et al. 1997; Service 1999). The mouse occurs below ?,500 <br />feet in elevation, generally in lowlands with medium to high moisture (Service 1999); <br />Natural Heritage Program 1996) along permanent or intermittent streams (Ryon 1996). <br />Trapping surveys for Preble's with negative results have been conducted on adjacent <br />properties in better potential habitat on Boulder and Saint Vrain Creeks (Da Ti Mbi <br />2001). A habitat assessment concluding the site contained no Preble's habitat was <br />prepazed by ERO (2003) and accepted by the Service in 2003 (Appendix A). Thus, the <br />project site contains no Preble's habitat. <br />Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus [eucocephalus) <br />Bald eagles are currently federally and state listed as a threatened species. Both bald <br />and golden eagles aze protected by the Eagle Protection Act (1978). Overwintering bald <br />eagles aze frequently observed along Boulder and Saint Vrain Creeks in Weld County. A <br />search of the NDIS database did not identify any known eagle nest sites or wintering <br />azeas on the project site. The nearest known nest site is approximately 10 miles to the <br />northeast. The neazest winter roost areas aze approximately 1.5 miles away on the Saint <br />Vrain River to the northwest and near the Saint Vrain State Park to the north. Boulder <br />Creek provides bald eagle winter foraging and winter concentration habitat approximately <br />'/4 mile west of the project site. Eagles foraging along Boulder Creek are also likely to <br />occasionally forage along Idaho Creek and on prairie dogs in the area, including on the <br />project site. <br />Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludoviciam[s) <br />The black-tailed prairie dog is a federal candidate species and a state species of <br />special concern. Due to population declines across its historical range, the black-tailed <br />prairie dog was proposed to be listed as a threatened species under the ESA. On February <br />ERO <br />Resour[es <br />Corporation <br />