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<br />United States Department of the Interior
<br />FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
<br />Ecological Services
<br />764 HorizonDrive, Building B
<br />Grand Junction, Colorado 81506-3946
<br />IN REPLY REFER TO:
<br />ES-6-RO-06-F-GJSJ001
<br />MS 65412 GJ
<br />Memorandum
<br />To:
<br />Fr ~
<br />. ti~
<br />Subject.
<br />~6~~~~~~~ ~~
<br />March 3, 2006 ~ o
<br />Natural Resource Specialist, Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation'and
<br />Enforcement, Denver, Colorado
<br />Western Colorado Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological
<br />Junction, Colorado
<br />Final Biological Opinion for National King Coal, LLC, King II Min<
<br />035, Revision 8
<br />This is in response to your letter dated February 14, 2006, concerning Revision 8, to Permit C-
<br />81-035, proposed by National King Coal, LLC, for the new King II coal mine in La Plata
<br />• County, Colorado. The proposed mine is to be contiguous to the existing King Coal mine neaz
<br />the town of Hesperus, Colorado, on State of Colorado lands and lands managed by the Bureau of
<br />Land Management. The Service provides these comments under the authority of, and in
<br />accordance with, the provisions of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
<br />(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (ESA), and the Interagency Cooperation Regulations (50 CFR 402).
<br />Your letter includes effects determinations for the bald eagle, black-footed ferret, Canada lynx,
<br />Colorado pikeminnow, Gunnison sage-grouse, Knowlton cactus, Mexican spotted owl, razorback
<br />sucker, southwestern willow flycatcher, Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly, and yellow-billed
<br />cuckoo. Regarding Federal candidates for official listing as threatened or endangered, these
<br />species presently have no legal protection under the ESA, but it is within the spirit of the Act to
<br />consider project impacts to these potentially sensitive species. We appreciate the consideration
<br />you have given them in your evaluations.
<br />Your analysis arrives at "no effect" determinations for the black-footed ferret, Canada lynx,
<br />Gunnison sage-grouse, Knowlton cactus, Mexican spotted owl, southwestern willow flycatcher,
<br />Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly, and yellow-billed cuckoo on the basis that the project azea and
<br />neazby surroundings lack suitable habitat for these species. The Service concurs with your "no
<br />effect" findings for these species.
<br />The bald eagle received further evaluation; nesting sites are known in La Plata County, and
<br />eagles aze common winter residents. However, you reported that baseline surveys of the
<br />• proposed project azea and adjacent lands revealed a lack of suitable habitat for bald eagle
<br />breeding or wintering. Since this species could potentially visit the project area at any time of
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