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Biological Assessment for DMG Permit Renewals McClane Canyon & Munger Canyon Mines West of the 6~" P.M. (Figure 2). The Munger permit area also includes a 4-acre reclaimed load- out near Loma (offsite) that is not evaluated by this BA. Munger was initiated in 1977 under a USGS exploration permit, and was in limited production under Permit No. 78-57 beginning in 1978, and under existing Permit No. C-1981-020 beginning in 1983. In 1984, the mine was placed in "temporary cessation." Interim reclamation was conducted in 2001 at the portal bench, and the four portals sealed. In 2004, the mine status was changed from temporary cessation to "active" so that a 4.9-acre waste rock disposal area serving McClane could be constructed in the area of permitted surface disturbance. A total of approximately 17 acres of surface disturbance (Figure 2) is permitted at Munger under DMG Permit No. C-1981-020, including an accesslhaul road, the 4.9-acre disposal site handling waste rock from McClane, topsoil storage areas, a small pond to collect sediment from drainage off disturbed surface areas, and a portion of a spur road to the McClane emergency drill site. The DMG approved that portion of the spur road in the Munger permit area by its approval of Minor Permit Revision No. 25 (MR-25). Periodic haulage of waste rock from McClane to the Munger disposal area is the only operational activity regularly occurring in the Munger permit area under the current permit. Evaporative loss from the sediment pond at Munger results in a minor water depletion (an estimated annual average of less than 1 acre-foot) from the East Salt Creek drainage. CAM has on file a Section 7 consultation for an annual average depletion of 13.39 acre-feet per year for McClane (see Section 2). The McClane depletion estimate is based on an overestimate of coal production; actual annual average depletions run well under half the permitted annual average depletion rate. The permitted depletion rate for McClane therefore easily accommodates the estimated 1 acre-foot sediment pond evaporative loss depletion at Munger. The depletions from McClane and Munger are considered interrelated/interdependent effects, since facilities at Munger support the operations of McClane, and are considered collectively by this BA for their impacts on endangered fishes. Other than evaporative loss from the sediment pond, no consumptive water use occurs at Munger. To mitigate a degree of disturbance to wildlife, the Munger Canyon Mine Permit includes wildlife protection measures identical to those identified for McClane (see Section 3.1). 4 ECOLOGICAL SETTING OF ASSESSMENT AREAS On February 22, 2006, Rare Earth biologist Dawn Reeder visited the McClane Canyon and Munger Canyon Mines to characterize the ecological setting and wildlife habitat in the assessment areas, with specific attention to the areas of permitted surface disturbance (Figure 2) and their immediate surroundings. The following ecological setting descriptions of the assessment areas together with their respective existing permitted surface disturbance and operations (described in Section 3) constitute the "environmental baseline' considered in this BA's determinations of effect. The assessment areas lie in tributary drainages of East Salt Creek, in the upper shrub-steppe foothills transitional to lower montane zones of the Book Cliffs area, in the Colorado Plateau physiographic province. The region is generally characterized by steep slopes and shallow rocky soils supporting pinyon pine-Utah juniper woodlands and mixed montane shrublands. Riparian corridors feature mixed semi-desert shrubs and cottonwoods. Drainages are often steep and incised. Mesaverde sandstone outcrops form stratified cliff faces and ledges throughout the mid-range elevations. March 27, 2006 5 Rare Earth Science, LLC