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Grouse." With this fording, the USFWS began a full status review to determine whether to list the Greater Sage-Grouse as threatened or endangered. Regional biologists have concluded the sage grouse does not warrant listing al this time. The King Mountain Sand & Gravel Mine is located within the heart of some of the last remaining quality Greats Sage-Grouse habitat in southtan Routt County. Critical habitats found as and immediately adjacent to the proposed project include breeding habitat and production areas (leks/strutting grounds, prelaying habitat' nesting habitat, early brood-rearing habitat, and summer late brood-rearing habitat), summer range, transition range and winter range. The proposed site and the associated disturbance zone are located entirely within these high use critical sage-grouse habitats. Greats Sage-Grouse are restricted to sagebnuh rangelands throughout Western North America and are found nowhere else in the world. Greats Sage-Grouse are declining across much of tbea range, and locally the CROW has seen Greater Sage-Grouse populations in southern Routt County decline over the past 30 years On September 1, 2004, the Narthem Eagle/Southem Routt Greats Sage-Grouse Work. Group completed a conservation plan with sage-grouse and sage-grouse habitat conservation sad protection in mind. This plea was the result of collaborative effort involving private landowners and private industry as well as state and federal wildlife and land management ageaciea There has been significant local involvement on this plan and signatures supporting this plan include several South Routt landowners (including property owners adjacent to the proposed pith Routt County ofScials, and CROW staff. Additional iaformatian on sage grouse biology and on the recommendations of the Northern Eagle/South Routt Greater Sage-grouse Walk Group is found in their Conservation Plan. Please contact our Steamboat Springs office for a copy of this Plan. Tn the fall of 2003, the CROW wllaborated with the $LM to initiate a radio•collar study of sage-grouse in Southern Roua and Northam Eagle Counties. 2004 data shows.that the locations for many of the radio- collared birds concentrated within one mt7e of the proposed site throughout the breeding attd production season indicating the importance of this area for Greats Sage-Grouse. Additionally, prior to this radio- collar study, little was (mown of winter habitat in the Toponas area. The radioed birds were consistently found err Five Pines Mesa and in Egeria Park. The study has highlighted the importance this area has~in providingyear-round sage-grouse habitat CROW 1ek trtonitoring and WRIS data show that the proposed King Mountain Sand & Crravel Mane is located towards the center of the critical Greater Ssge-Grorrse production areas on Five Pines Mr~B. POTENTIAL IMPACTS: GENERAL CObIIVffiNTS: The petitioner is proposing a large increase in pit size and production The proposed activity will result in habimt loss and reduced habitat value in the mfrred area. This loss and reduction in value will also hlcely . extend to those habitats located in close proximity to and within the created dishttbanoe zone of the proposed operation. The increase in scale of operation will result in habitat fragmentation in this area. However, we feel that on a landscape scale the proposed activity is not likely to result in long-teen negative impacts for the majority of wildlife species found near the proposed project. For example, most species including elk and mule dea will h'kely adapt to the disturbance created by the proposed activity by dispersing to adjacent ' habitats. However, the proposed pit expansion will likely result in significant impacts to grouse populations and their habitat. The activity proposed by King Mountain Sand & Gravel Mine will result in the loss of valuable sago-grouse and sharp-tailed grouse habitat located on the property. The proposed operations will also likely result in reduced habitat value and potential habitat loss for critical Greater Sage-Crrouse and Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse habitats located close to and within the created disturbance zone of the proposed operation. While impacts will occw to both Columbian Sharp-tatTed Grouse and Greats Sage. Grouse, we are most concerned with impacts of the proposed operation to Greater Sage-Grouse.