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Limited data are available on the use of Barnes Ridge for nesting and brood rearing. It is generally felt that these activities occur within about 2 miles of sage grouse leks. All of the section of pipeline corridor between Section 27, T3S, R96W in the north and Section 34, T4S, R96W near the divide between the Piceance Creek drainage and the Parachute Creek drainage is within 2 miles of either the Stewart lek or the Bragg Spring lek. Therefore, this entire section of the corridor is considered to be potential nesting and brood rearing territory. Very rocky conditions and a relative lack of topsoil in some areas along Barnes Ridge have resulted in poor establishment and growth of desirable plant species for sage grouse habitat following revegetation along previously constructed pipeline corridors adjacent to the proposed Yankee Gulch Project pipeline route. In some locations, excavation during trenching operations resulted in considerable bedrock ending up on the surface, which further diminished the success of vegetation establishment in those areas, thereby making the area less desirable to sage grouse. In addition, aerial spraying of weeds along the existing pipeline corridors has apparently resulted in nearly total eradication of desirable fortis along the Barnes Ridge portion of these corridors. Based on the likely vulnerable nature of the currently small Barnes Ridge sage grouse population, the marginal nature of the existing sage grouse habitat, and the proximity of the proposed pipeline corridor to areas used or potentially used by sage grouse for breeding, nesting, and brood rearing, construction of the project pipelines has the potential to adversely affect sage grouse. The following mitigation measures have been designed in consultation with the CDOW and the BLM to minimize the potential for adverse impacts to sage grouse populations. For the purposes of this Sage Grouse Mitigation Plan, the section of pipeline corridor from the pinyon-juniper/sagebrush transition zone on the north end of Barnes Ridge in Section 27, T3S, R96W to the divide area in Section 34, T4S, R96W is considered to be occupied sage grouse range and will be referred to as the Sage Grouse Treatment Area. The total length of this segment is approximately 8 miles. Timing of Work No construction activities will occur before June 1, 2000, within the Sage Grouse Treatment Area. This will preclude the potential for any conceivable impacts to sage grouse while they are on the Stewart or Bragg Springs leks, from approximately April 1 through mid-May. To safeguard potential nesting or brood rearing uses on Barnes Ridge, no construction activities will occur within 2 miles of the Stewart lek or the Bragg Spring lek from June 1 through July 1. This construction limitation will involve the entire 8-mile-long corridor within the Sage Grouse Treatment Area. However, the CDOW and the BLM have agreed that unlimited access along Sprague Gulch Wildlife Mitigation Plan 2-2 Yankee Gulch Sodium Minerals Pmjatt American Soda, LL.P.