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Grouse.° With this fording, the USFWS began a full status review to determine wheffiu to list the Greater <br />Sage-Grouse as threatened or endangered. Regional biologists have concluded the sage grouse does not <br />.warrant listing at this time. The King Mountain Sand & Gravel Mine is located within the heart of some of <br />the last remaining quality Greater Sage-Grouse habitat in southern Routt County. Critical habitats found <br />on and immediately adjacent to the proposed project include breeding habitat and production areas <br />(leks/atrutting grounds, prdaying habitat, nesting habitat, earlybrood-rearing habits; and summer late <br />brood-rearing habitat), summer range, transition range and winter range. The proposed site and the <br />associated disturbance zone aze located entirely within these high use critical sage-grouse habitats. <br />Greater Sage-Grouse are restricted to sagebrush rangelands throughout Western North America and are <br />found nowhere else in the world. Greater Sage-Grouse are declining across rrmch of thec range, sad <br />locally the CROW has seen Greater Sage~irouse populations in southern Routt County decline over the <br />past 30 years. On September 1, 2004, the Northern Eagle/Souffiem Routt Greats Sage-Grouse Work <br />Group completed a conservation plan with sage-grouse and sage-grouse habitat conservation sad <br />protectionvt mind. This plan was the result of collaborative effort inwh+ing private hmdowners and <br />private industry as well as state and federal wildlife and land management agencies There has been <br />significant local involvcmmt on this plan and signatures supporting this plan include several South Routt <br />landowners (including property owners adj scent to the proposed pit), Routt County ot5cisls, and CROW <br />staff. Additional information on sage grouse biology and on the recommendations of the Northern <br />Eaglel5ouffi Routt Greats Sagc-grouse Work Group is found in their Conservation PLut. Please contact <br />our Steamboat Springs office for a copy of this Plan. <br />>n the fall of 2003, the CDOW collaborated with the BLM to initiate a radiotollar study ofsage-grouse in <br />Southern Routt end Northern Eagle Counties 2004 data shows that ffie locations for many of the radio- <br />collared birds concentrated within one tm7e of the proposed site throughout the breeding and production <br />season indicating the importance of this arse for Greater Sage-Grouse. Additionally, prior to this radio- <br />collar study, ]iWe was lmown of winter habitat in the Toponas arcs. The radioed birds were consistently <br />found m Five Pines Mesa and in Egeria Park The study has highlighted the importance this area has•in <br />providmg year-round sage-giouae habitat <br />CROW lek monitoring and WRIS data show that the proposed King Mountain Sand & Gravel Mine is . <br />located wwarda ffie curter of the critical Greater Sage~3rouse production areas on Five Pines Meas. <br />POTEN77AL IIVIPACTS: <br />GENERAL COMME[JTS: <br />The petitioner is proposing a large increase in pit siu and production. The proposed activity will result in <br />habitat loss and reduced habitat value in the mined aces This loss and reduction in value will also hkely . <br />extend to those habitats located in close proximity to and within the created disturbance zone of ffie proposed <br />operatiaa. The increase in scale of operation will result in habitat fragmentation in this area However, we feel <br />that on a landscape scale the proposed activity is not likely to result inlong-tens negative irrrpacta fa the <br />majority of wildlife species found near the proposed project. For example, most species including ells and <br />mule deer will lrkely adapt to the disturbance created by the proposed activity by dispersing to adjacent <br />habitats. However, the proposed pit expansion will lilrely result in significant impacts to grouse populations <br />and their habitat The activity proposed by King Mountain Sand & Gravel Mine will result in the loss of <br />valuable sage-grouse and sharp-tailed grouse habitat located on the property. The proposed operations will <br />also likely resrlt in reduced habitat valor and potential habitat loss for critical Greater Sage-Grouse and <br />Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse habitats located close to and within the created disturbance Zone of the <br />proposed operation. While impacts will occur to both Columbian Shatp-tarled Grouse and Greater Saga <br />Grouse, we are most concerned with impacts of the proposed operation to Greater Sage-Grouse. <br />