PERMFILE63501 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Site Conditions The site is situated at an average elevation of 5,360 feet above mean sea level and is generally undeveloped. Recent land uses mainly include year-round pasture land for grazing cattle and horses. The current proposed land use is sand and gravel mining. Topographically, the site can be divided into three distinct areas: an upper, middle and floodplain terrace consisting of saline bottomland shrubland, pasture, and riparian-wetland plant communities, respectively. The plant communities present on the North Bank Resources project site are directly related to the topography, soils, hydrology, aspect, climate and human activity. Predominant wildlife habitats consist of greasewood shrub land, hayfields-grazed pasture, and riparian-wetland areas along the floodplain of the Colorado River. The greasewood shrub land is intermixed with various upland grasses, weeds and barren areas. The upland pasture habitat is degraded and heavily grazed by cattle and horses. Ditches present within upland pastures are also of poor habitat quality and weedy due to grazing, trampling and constant side casting of dredge material during ditch maintenance. Riparian and wetland habitat has been degraded by grazing and invasion ofnon-native vegetation, such as tamarisk and Russian olive trees. This vegetation type forms a continuous linear band of habitat along both riverbanks, on numerous islands within the river and several drainages flanking the site. Although other Waters ofthe U.S., including wetlands are present on site and adjacent to the site, only those that will be affected by the proposed project are discussed herein. Wetlands located outside of the proposed gravel mine area are identified as Non-applicable Jurisdictional Wetlands on the attached Figure 2, Jurisdictional Wetland Map. Isolated, Non-jurisdictional and Jurisdictional Waters and Wetlands located within the proposed gravel mine area and conveyor route on the property are also identified as such on Figure 2. These areas are located within the middle terrace of the site and along the Colorado River, including a remnant of Stobaugh Ditch (Area 3); an unnamed drainage that is a modified extension of a natural channel that tames return flow/tail water from the Lower Cactus Valley Ditch (Area 4); an isolated stock pond (Area 6); an ephemeral Swale connected to the Colorado River (Area 7); a wetland Swale connected to Area 4 (Area 8); and Colorado River bank and island wetlands associated with the proposed conveyor easement across the Colorado River (Areas 10, 11, 12 and 13). Stobaugh Ditch (Area 3) is located in the middle terrace. The remnant of this ditch runs across the center of the site diagonally from east to west into the Colorado River. The unnamed drainage (Area 4) shows up on USGS mapping as an intermittent stream. It enters the site in the central part of the northern boundary, and then flows in a southerly direction until it meets the middle terrace. At this location, the natural drainage has been channelized to form a stock pond and then it flows into the Colorado River. The isolated stock pond (Area 6) is located in the center of the middle terrace. At its nearest point, it is approximately 250 feet from the edge of the Colorado River. Area 7 is located west of Area 4 in a broad wetland depression/swale that connects to the Colorado River. Area 8 is a wetland Swale that connects to Area 4 from the northeast. Areas 10, 12 and 11, respectively are located along the north and south fringes and in an internal wetland patch of a bar separated by a side channel of the Colorado River. Area 13 is located along the north bank of a Colorado River side channel.