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RE~,F~VED orr ~ ~~. Mr. Al Pfister - Assistant Field Supervisor U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service co-ools Ecological Services ~ e. ~, ~ v Western Colorado Office ... 764 Horizon Drive, Building B ~`~ ~~ Grand Junction, Colorado 81506-3946 RE: Formal section 7 Consultation, Colowyo Coal Company, L.P. "Colowyo" mine, Permit C-81-019 -South Taylor/l.ower Wilson Mining Area, Permit Revision PR-02 Deaz Mr. Pfister: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) Western Region is processing a Mining Plan Modification for the above subject in conjunction with a permitting action to be taken by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. The Colowyo surface coal mine is located in Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties, Colorado, approximately twenty-eight (28) miles south of the town of Craig, Colorado on Bureau of Land Management, State, and private lands. The elevation of the mining azea is approximately 7,300 feet above sea level. The mining operations use a combination of dragline, truck shovel, and highwall miner mining methods. The average production rate is approximately 4s million tons per year from eight coal seams of the Williams Fork Formation but could reach a maximum production rate of 9.0 million tons per yeaz. The Colowyo mine lies neaz the edge of the Yampa River drainage and within a few miles of the White River drainage to the south. The permit area is bounded by Good Spring Creek, to the east and Wilson Creek to the west, both perennial streams. Taylor Creek an ephemeral stream serves to drain the majority of the central the pernut area. All of these drainages flow northeasterly into Milk Creek which flows into the Yampa River approximately nine (9) miles from the Colowyo mine. The topography at the Colowyo mine ranges from approximately 6,600 to 8,200 feet above sea level with approximately 28 percent of the disturbed area having slopes between 15 and 20 degrees and approximately 18 percent of PR-02 having slopes of 20 degrees or more. Valley and gulch slopes are frequently have is to 30 degree slopes or greater, but ridge tops aze wide and are gently sloping. August 28, 2006~M~~ ~e aRac~~~~ a~o °' Satety Four main vegetation communities dominate the Colowyo mine. The sagebrush community is characterized by almost complete dominance of the overstory by big sage (Artemisia tridentatal)