2006-12-18_REVISION - M1978314 (3)

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King Mountain Sand and Gravel Mine Ecological Resources Assessment Page 18 7.0 MITIGATION ANALYSIS 7.1 Mitigation Plan CDOW submitted a referral letter to DRMS on Januazy 7, 2005, and to Banks and Gesso, LLC, representing King Mountain Sand and Gravel, LLC, on February 9, 2005. These letters contain an assessment of potential Project impacts and suggested mitigation. Banks and Gesso subsequently proposed a Wildlife Mitigation Plan, dated April 22, 2005. The CDOW letter dated February 9, 2005, and the Wildlife Mitigation Plan (the "Plan") are included in Appendix 4. The Plan is the basis for this mitigation evaluation. 7.2 King Mountain Gravel, LLC Diligence CDOW focused on sage grouse in its suggested mitigation measures. King Mountain Gravel, LLC responded by addressing all of the on-site and mining related impacts. The reclamation seed mix has further been refined, at considerable increase of reclamation costs. King Mountain Gravel, LLC has also chosen one of the suite of off-site mitigation options suggested by CDOW. Therefore, the mitigation plan is considered herein as having addressed the issues raised by CDOW, and has more than satisfied minimum DRMS requirements. Since the development of the mitigation plan proposed by King Mountain Gravel, LLC, the following actions have been unilaterally taken by King Mountain Gravel, LLC. None of these actions have been required by any regulatory agency at this time, since no new mine permits have been issued. I. The old County gravel pit on the west side of County Road 3 has been reclaimed. The previous County reclamation had failed. 2. The large equipment yard east of the existing gravel pit has been cleaned up and removed. 3. Rested the property from grazing in 2005. 4. Consultants that specialize in the field of land conservation have been retained to • assess the value of the gravel reserve on the Project site, • complete an ecological assessment of the Project site, • begin a real estate and legal review of the property with the objective of the donation of a conservation easement, and • complete a qualified appraisal for the property consistent with Internal Revenue Service standards governing conservation easements. Conservation efforts for 2006 are focused on a portion of the 5,200 acre King Mountain Ranch three miles south of the Project site. A conservation easement on the Project site will be under consideration for 2007. 7.3 Conservation Easement Proposal The mine plan displayed in Figure 3 has a 155 acre buffer area that includes terrace sideslopes and most of the drainages on the east side of the terrace. It is recommended to include most of this area into a conservation easement. In addition, Egeria Creek south of County Road 5 and south of the residential area is also a high value habitat, and of