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fimdamental concern ifl the Board: King Mountain's ability to operate sad reclaim the affected area <br />reeponaibly, <br />TIYe Proposed Gravel Plt EYpanalen WW Rave Si'pnlJlnsnt And.ldvene Isrpacb <br />King Mountaia'a Permit Coavenioa Application should be denied because of the dgnificant <br />and adverse impact the proposed expansion will have on wildlife, conservation end property values, <br />transportation sad safety issues, water rights issues, end other aaathedo and recreational c~cams, <br />The statute under which you regulate mining aotivitiee states: <br />It u tAie,/hrtlrn lntast ojt6e geaerol aaaenebJy N conserve netard raearesa, old is <br />lire protedlon of wtle7lje and agaadc raoaroe~ eatablltb egrlcaharo~ nweetlonal, <br />reatdentlai; and lndannlol acres, and promf sad proiaaM tlYe JieehAy agJe{y, and <br />genarisl wa(~aro ojrbe people of tMa seats. <br />Here, the former operation (before its transiasr m King Mouataia) was a small, thirty-yoar cld, <br />tbmily-owned end operated gravel pit that produced lees tl-an 1,000 tons of gravel enaually. The old <br />Hawes annual repasts to DMG typically didn't elate whit amount of material had bean extracted but <br />only stated "vary little material taker out" each year, The apeoial nee permit goveraiag that small- <br />soato oporatioa was set to expire baauee the permitted area was almost exhatusted. King Mountain <br />intends to tteaaform the gravel pit into a major rogianal mining operation of up to 256 acres. <br />Accordingly, the requested expansion and its obvious and iaeviteble effects are and will be siguifioaut <br />and detrimental. <br />a. <br />The gravel pit ie adjacent to the most important braediag area for the soon to be endangered <br />Sage Grouse is sa arrea of special concern, North Eagle Cotmty/South Routt County. Indeed, the <br />proposed expansion ie of a very intearse land use in ck-se proximity to a sigaifiosnt ooncantration of <br />grouse. In fact, the world's leading Sage Grouse biologist, Clair Braun, inspected rho area in 2005 and <br />unequivocally determined that the proposed gravel pit expansion would be severely detrimental to the <br />Sage Grouse. It is immediately adjacent to most crlttcat breeding arras in region end breeding success <br />is the key factor is Grouse survival. tU sash, the proposed expansion has potentially significsat <br />impacts to grouse populations and their habitats. <br />Although the U.S. Fish end Wildlife service has not yet listed the Sage Grouse as Dither an <br />endangered or a threatened species, the DOW has listed it m a "species of special concernn,° (y,g, low <br />or declining population), end the U.S. Foust Service and Bureau of Land Management have identified <br />the bird ea a "sensitive epxies." It has boon petitioned, and will be again next year, for Endangered <br />Species protection. Furthermo% the Stara of Colorado has developed a comprehensive statewide <br />wildlife coaservatioa plea (the "Wildlife Conaervadoa Plan's to protect rho species, which plea <br />includes regional and local conservation strategies, such a. mitigation strategies to reduce the impact <br />of mining on the bird end ire habitat. In fkct, in September 2005, the State of Colorado submitted the <br />Wildlife Conservation Plaa to the USFWS. <br />In the original permit coaversioa process, the Colorado Division of Wildlife (rho `DOW <br />stated "adequate mitigation will only be accomplished through the implementation of one or more <br />