2002-04-12_PERMIT FILE - M2002052 (26)

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r• 6.4.8 Exhibit H -Wildlife Information • Wildlife Assessment Site Description Savage and Savage conducted a wildlife assessment for the Natures Park, Inc. Saddle Horn Rock Ranch site on December 3, 2001. The Saddle Horn Rock Ranch site is approximately 550 acres located north of the Town of Milliken (see attached location map). The confluence of the Little Thompson River and Big Thompson River is located within the south portion of the site. The legal description of the site includes the S'/z of Section 35 in Township 5 North, Range 67 West, and portions of Section 2 in Township 4 North, Range 67 West, 6's Prime Meridian, in Weld County, Colorado. The property was accessed from Ethel Street on the south and from Colorado State Highway 257 on the west. Weather during our site investigation was warm and cleaz with temperatures in the 50's. The primary terrace was largely free of snow cover and the secondary terrace was wet from a previous snowstorm. The south one-third of the site encompasses the primary alluvial terrace of the confluence of the Big Thompson and Little Thompson Rivers. Proceeding north, the site rises sharply along three steeply incised drainages to the level secondary terrace. The elevation of the study azea ranges from approximately 4730 feet on the primary terrace to 4900 feet elevation on the secondary terrace. A.manmade pond is located at the south terminus of the easternmost incised drainage. Four small historic sand and gravel pits aze located within the south one-third of the site. Two are immediately south of the Little Thompson River and two are west of both waterways along the Union Pacific Railroad Line. The confluence of the Little Thompson and Big Thompson Rivers is located within the south end of the property. The Little Thompson River flows into the property from the southwest and the Big Thompson River flows into the property from the northwest. A riparian corridor is located within the confluence and along both waterways and is dominated by plains cottonwood (Popudus deltoides) and coyote willow (Sadix exigua), The remaining property within the primary terrace is used as grazing land and hay field and is dominated by wheatgrass and other weedy species. The steep incised drainages that are between the primary and secondary terraces consist of native xeric mixed shrub grassland. The vegetation is dominated by peach leaf willow (Salix amygdaloides), rubber rabbitbmsh (Chrysothamtrus nauseosus), skunkbrush sumac (Rhos trilobata), bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), prickly-pear cactus (Opuntiapolyacantha), yucca (Yucca glauca), western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithir), and Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides). The level secondary terrace is used for agriculture. During our site visit a portion of this azea was fallow and the remaining area was planted to corn. ~i~