Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br /> <br />WILDLIFE MITIGATION FDR LITTLE MIDDLE CREEK TRACT <br />We have reviewed your letter of November 19 regarding our request for <br />information we will need to formulate acceptable wildlife monitoring and <br />mitigation plans for the Little Middle Creek Tract. We are encouraged about <br />several of your comments; however, there are several points where we feel our <br />position is not fully understood. It is in that light that this response and <br />our recommendations for mitigation are prepared. To simplify, we will cover the <br />points as they are addressed in your letter. <br />SCHEDULING <br />There appears to be an obvious misunderstanding regarding the time schedule <br />for the development of this tract. Our current schedule calls for a permit to <br />be submitted in March of 1985, with approval hopefully in September 1985. We <br />hope to initiate road building, topsoil removal and site preparation activities <br />in the Fall of 1985. Overburden removal should start in the Spring of 1986. <br />Reclamation operations will not commence until the Summer of 1988. We believe <br />your statement that we are requesting you to make a commitment to develop the <br />Little Middle Creek Tract "before any reasonable effort to determine mitigation <br />needs can be undertaken" is therefore, inaccurate. At a minimum, one additional <br />field season is available prior to disturbance and three field seasons are <br />available to formulate an acceptable reclamation plan and initiate a full scale <br />wildlife mitigation plan. During the interim, we will cooperate in any way <br />possible to mitigate adverse and identified impacts to wildlife. We, therefore, <br />request prompt action by USFWS and all other agencies involved in approving the <br />attached recommendations for mitigation and the approval of the upcoming permit <br />application. <br />1 <br /> <br />