PERMFILE70440 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~ iii iiiiiiiiiiiii iii ~ ~~ r~ ~+ ~~ w ~~ TUTTLE APPLEGATE RINDAHL, INC. Consultants for Land and Resource Development COAL CREEK RESOURCES - ADDENDUM ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS A^Pro ec:t Context ~~~~~ urn. ~ uuu ~ 19P8 MINED :..~: . 1~~CLAMATIOiV i~IVISipN Coal Cr•eeek Resources proposes to extract sand from the Coal Creek drainage area. The drainage basin itself is Located in the high plain~a area east: of Denver. As is characterl5tic, Coai Creek is a long nar•r^ow drainage basin and in this area is sur•r•ounded by treeless rolling hills. Approximately 6 miles of Creek occur upstream of the pro,7ect area. S. Cottonwood Trees Along then Creek there ar•e numerous stands of cottonwood trees. The trees vary in size from iE3 to 24 inches 1n dlameter•. Due to the heavy grazing eif cattle, there ere no young cottonwood trees growing. These cottonwood trees are the main environmental resource along the Creek. The trees temper- the wind and sun and provide a cooler nricroctintate along the Creek. If there were no grazing, thYS cooler- micr^ociirnate would provide opportunity for- a variety of flowers and understor^y shrubs and trees to grow. Unfortunately, the main plant under- thra cottonwood trees is Leafy Spurge. The cottonwood trees ais~~ provlde cover- and breeding areas for- wildlife. Although no resident deer- herrY is evident in the er•ea, deer do migrate through Coal Creek. Occasion.alty antelope will come down to the Creek to water. Hawks and ow is do use the trees for nesting and perching. In addition, the cottonwood trees provide a visual amenity !n a generally treeless area. The cottonwood trees receive their moisture from the groundwater flowing into and along Coal Creek. Cottonwood trees have shallow spreading r^oot s. One could expect that the ma,]or•ity of the roots arse located within the top 24 to 3E inches of the soY 1. In addition, cottonwood trees have feeder- roots which grow ver•t icaI Iy down .into the groundwater. These roots provide stability and support to the te•ee~; and also gather- and store water- and nutr^ients for^ the tree. Trees growing in the middle of the fioodplain would have a even concentric root growth. Trees which er•e growing up against the bluff ar-ea of the Ploodplain would be expectetl to have more roots growing toward the more moist soil of the Creek. The months of Apr^ii, May, June, and July contain the higher- average monthly pr•ecipitat ion. The nta,]ority of the new growth on the trees will occur during May and June.