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' Mule Creek Gravel Pit~ironmental Assessment • Page 31 <br />' Pazk and the gravel pit site is approximately 100 feet, the traffic accessing the State Park <br /> is considered part of the traffic affecting the proposed site in terms of noise levels. <br />' Seasonal activities change the level of the noise in the vicinity of the proposed project <br /> azea. Noise levels are highest during the summer months as a result of summer recreation <br /> use along Highway 67 and the activities associated with road maintenance. CDOT traffic <br />' records shows a noticeable a peak in the traffic count during the summer months. Since <br /> 1992, the summer months (June through September) accounted for 44% of yearly traffic <br /> counts in the north section of Highway 67. During the winter months, highway traffic <br />' and associated noise levels are considerably lower than in the summer. Similarly, noise <br /> levels can fluctuate dramatically throughout the day depending on the volume of traffic <br />' and visitors to the Mueller State Pazk along Highway 67. It is expected that day time <br /> traffic volumes are substantially higher than at night. <br />' In addition to Mueller State Park, property owners adjacent to the gravel pit include: First <br />Methodist Church of Colorado Springs, on the west side of Hwy 67, just north of the <br />gravel pit; one private (individual) property on the west side of Hwy 67, facing the south <br />' part of the gravel pit; and one private (individual) property, south of the gravel pit. <br />' 3.1.2 Biological Environment <br />3.1.2.1 Aquatic Biology <br />The aquatic habitat and biology within the proposed project area is limited to the drainage <br />between Highway 67 and the gravel mine. The entire drainageway is located on private <br />' property. There are no streams or water bodies on National Forest lands affected by the <br />proposed project. <br /> This stream is an unnamed, intermittent tributary to Fourmile Creek, and skirts the west <br />' edge of the project area (Powers 1998). In the course of two field trips, one during the <br /> winter (1998) and the second one during July 1999, a flow of about 0.2 to 0.3 cfs was <br />' observed, which is not sufficient to support fish populations. <br /> Gravel extraction activities on Forest land, however, may impact wetland areas, described <br />' in detail in the next section of this study. <br /> 3.1.2.2 Wetlands <br /> h <br />d <br />i <br />N <br />i <br />l <br /> e propose <br />m <br />ne, nor on <br />at <br />ona <br />There are no wetland areas inside the boundaries of t <br /> Forest Service system lands adjacent to the proposed project. There is a healthy wet <br />' meadow /wetland area on the western edge of the project, but it is on private property <br /> outside the proposed project area. <br />t Upstream of the access road to the gravel pit, the unnamed tributary to Fourmile Creek <br />flows through a wet meadow that is approximately a half-mile long and varies between <br />50 and 150 feet in width. There is no defined channel in this part of the drainage. Below <br />1 <br />' Hydrusphcte Rcsource Consultants, 1002 Walnut Sutle 200, Boulder, CO 80302 <br />