2002-04-03_REVISION - M1979089 - Laserfiche WebLink

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STATE OF COLORADO Bill Owens, Governor DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION OF WILDLIFE ~ AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Russell George, Director 6060 Broadway Denver, Colorado 80216 Telephone: (303) 297-1192 West Region Service Center 711 Independent Avenue Grand Junction, CO 81505 Colorado Division of Minerals & Geology / Attn: Mr. Steven Shuey 101 South 3`d St., Suite 301 Grand Junction, CO 81501 Dear Mr. Shuey, DENVER ~Ft~E ~~.~ GG~ oa r/ March 29, 2002 G~~~O 'v ,, Far Wildlife- For People APR 0 4 ~U08 t/ DMLSOni Of hf~Fra"`PR^ ;» - ^.'r!"'r,V The Colorado Division of Wildlife has reviewed the proposed amendment to Reclamation Permit M-79-089, the Grand Junction Pipe & Supply Company's 23 Road Pit. I visited the site with proponent representative Mr. Ed Settle on March 13, 2002. The proponent seeks to expand their existing operation by approximately 52 acres. The new area to be mined consists of agricultural fields and a previously disturbed processing and storage site. Three ponds currently exist within the disturbance area. The revised mining/reclamation plan seeks to link those ponds together, creating one lake with approximately 27 additional surface acres of water. A grove of mature cottonwood trees occurs between 2 of the existing ponds (lots 9 & 10-Exhibit C). Scattered individual trees are located near the Schmahl residence, the truck scale, and north of the cell tower site. Because of the extremely high value of cottonwoods to wildlife, and the difficulty of re-establishing that habitat type, we recommend the preservation of all trees within the cottonwood grove and a buffer zone of 1'/z times the diameter of the tree crown around the grove. Slope contours of 3:1 are recommended around the grove to protect the root zone from damage during excavation. If de-watering operations are necessary during mining, artificial watering should be implemented to ensure the health and survival of the tree grove. We recognize that efficient mining may result in the loss of some of the scattered individual cottonwoods. Replanting at a rate sufficient to result in the permanent establishment of 10 pole sized trees per tree cut is recommended as mitigation for loss of the scattered trees. Our experience has shown that wire wrapping tree trunks and artificial watering are necessary to ensure the survival of young cottonwood plantings. - DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, Greg E. Walcher,'Executive Director... ' WILDLIFE COMMISSION, Rick Enstrom, Chair • Robert Shoemaker, Vice-Chair • Marianna Raftopoulos, Secretary ~ , Members, Bernard Black • Tom Burke • Philip James • Brad Phelps • Olive Valdez .. . Ex-Officio Members, Greg E. Watcher and Don Ament