Laserfiche WebLink
<br />The proposed construction and operation of the power plant and <br />coal mine, xith their attendant facilities will likely not <br />impact the coyote appreciably. Coyotes readily adapt to man and <br />his activities and coupled with their own secretive habits, <br />seldom are forced to vacate areas moderately used by man. The <br />increased hunting pressure that will occur will not lead to the <br />demise of coyotes in this area. <br />In general, on a low-to-high perturbation scale of 0 to 10, we <br />estimate impact on coyotes to be 1. <br />(7) BLACK-FOOTED FERRET (Mustela nigripes) <br />• Since the enactment of the Endangered Species Act in 1969 and <br />its expansion in 1973, the black-footed ferret has been the <br />subject of many field studies to document its presence <br />throughout its historical and potential range. The Colorado <br />Division of Wildlife has generated a series of maps depicting <br />ferret range and has eapanded considerable time and effort <br />documenting their efforts. To date they have been unsuccessful <br />in finding black-footed ferrets in the potential area of impact, <br />however there is an unverified siting reported along Blue <br />Mountain Road in Rio Blanco County. Our efforts met with <br />similar results. We found no sign of ferret presence in either <br />the mine site or its associated facilities. We did however, <br />determine that the prairie dog colonies, particularly in the <br />• vicinity of the disposal area, were sufficiently dense to <br />II.H-120 <br />