2004-11-09_REVISION - M2000016 (4)

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WILDLIFE RESOURCES ASSESSMENT FORT LUPTON PROPERTIES, WELD COUNTY, COLORADO eleven properties owned by private landowners and D&S Mining. The area is generally bounded by Weld County Road 6 to the south, State Highway 52 to the north, the South Platte River to the east and Weld County Road 23 to the west (Figure 1). The study area is located in the Fort Lupton Th-minute USGS quad, T1N, R66W, W %z Sections 7, I8 and 19 and T1N, R67W, NE Ya Section 24, N '/z Section 13, Section 12 and the SW '/e Section 1 in Weld County, Colorado (Figure 1). UTM coordinates for an approximate center of the overall study area are 4434000mN and 514000mE. The proposed project consists of the potential excavation of the sand and gravel resources on portions of the properties within the study area. Ecological and Other Features of the Study Area This site historically has been used for agriculture, including livestock grazing and agricultural crops. Curren[ land use in the area consists of agriculture, sand and gravel mining, light industrial and rural residential. The South Platte River flows along the eastern edge of the study area. Additionally, several irrigation ditches and Big Dry Creek traverse the property. Portions of the South Platte River corridor have been impacted by past agricultural practices and aggregate mining, both upstream and downstream of the site. Wetland and riparian areas occur along the South Platte River, Big Dry Creek, and several unnamed inrigation ditches on the properties. The South Platte River and associated riparian corridor flow along the eastern border of the study area from south to north. A mixture of wetlands, riparian forests, and barren sandbazs occur along the river. Wetland areas occur in low-flow backwater areas and areas along the main channel with slow flowing water. Vegetation in wetland areas along the river varies. Dominant vegetation consists mostly of understory species such as prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), and cattail (Typha latifolia). Small patches of soft-stem bulrush (Scirpus tabernaemontani), lady's thumb (Polygonum persicarta) and blue vervain (Verbena hastate) occur in backwater areas. Sandbar willow (Salix exigua) is the dominant shrub layer in wetland areas along the river. Riparian areas are dominated by plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides), peach-leaf willow (Salix amygdaloides), Russian