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fundamental concern to the Board; King Mountain's ability to oporate and reclaim the affected area <br />responsibly, <br />Tke proposed Gravel Illt Expwrsien Will Rave SigpiJtea~+t dnd Averse Impala <br />King Mountain's Permit Conversion Application should be denied because of the significant <br />and adverse impact the proposal expansion will have on wildlife, consorvation and property values, <br />transportation and safety issues, wator rights iesuos, and other aesdtetia and recreational wncams, <br />The statute under which you regulato mining aativitios states: <br />It is the further lntspt ojthe general assembNy to eoteeerve Nature! resources, std in <br />the protection of wlldHje and agaa8c resources, establish agrlculturnl, recreational, <br />resldentlal, aid iaduatrlal alter, anJ protect and promots the heaBh, safety, and <br />general welfare ojtha peopls ojehta slots. <br />Here, the former operation (before its transfer to I{ing Mouatain) was a small, thirty-year old, <br />family-owned and oparatod gravel pit that produced lees than 1,000 tone of gravel annually. The old <br />Hewes aanual reports to DMG typically didn't state what amount of malarial had been extracted but <br />only stated "very little material taken out" each year, The spoaial use penait governing that amell- <br />soale operation was set to expire because the permitted area was almost exhausted. ICiag Mouatain <br />intends to transform the gravel pit isle a major regional mining operation of up to 256 acres. <br />Accordingly, the requested oxpaneion and its obvious and inevitable effects are and will be significant <br />and detrimental. <br />a. Wildlife Concerns <br />' The gravel pit is adjacent to the moat imgortant breading area for the seas to bo endangered <br />Saga Grouse is an area of special concern, North Eagle County/South Routt County. Indeed, the <br />proposed expansion is of a vary intanao land use in close proximity to a significant concentration of <br />grouse. la fact, the world's leading Sage Grouse biologist, Clair Braun, inspected the area in 2005 sad <br />unequivocally determined drat the proposed gravel pit expansion would be severely detrimental to the <br />Saga Gmuae. It is immediately adjacent to moat critical breading areas in regioa and breading success <br />is the key factor in Grouse survival. Aa such, the proposed expansion has potentially significant <br />impacts to grouse populations and their habitats. <br />Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has not yet Listed the gage Grouse ae either an <br />endangered or a threatened species, the DOW has listed it ass "species of special concern," i a low <br />or declining population), and the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have identified <br />the bird as a "sensitive species." It has been petitioned, and will be again next year, for Endangered <br />Species protection. Furthermore, the State of Colorado has developed a comprehensive statewide <br />wildlife conservation plan (the "Wildlife Conservation Plaa'~ to protect the species, which plan <br />includes regional and local conservation atrategiee, such 88 mitigation strategies to reduce the impact <br />of mining on the bird and its habitat. In fact, in September 2005, the State of Colorado submittal the <br />Wildlife Conservation Plaa to the USFWS. <br />In the original permit conversion process, the Colorado Division of Wildlife (the `DOW') <br />stated "adequate mitigation will only be accomplished through the implementation of one or more <br />