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11 <br />American Soda hired a botanical consultant, Western Slope <br />Environmental Consultants (wSEC) to perform a complete plant <br />survey of all lease holdings that were the subject of their <br />proposed commercial mine plan. The same consultants had <br />previously inventoried portions of the lease holding in 1995 and <br />1996 for exploration activities. <br />Enclosed is WSEC's American Soda report for 1998 detailing plant <br />inventory methodology and results across the remaining portions <br />of the lease (2,620 acres) slated for the commercial mining <br />operation. Approximately 840 acres within the lease area were <br />inventoried during June of 1996. In 1995, the same botanists <br />surveyed the 240-acre plant facility site which encompassed no <br />outcropping of the Thirteenmile tongue and no listed, proposed or <br />candidate plants were encountered. Refer to enclosed WSEC's 1998 <br />report, Figure 2 for location of inventoried areas. Copies of <br />consultants' 1995 and 1996 reports were previously provided to <br />the Service in correspondences in late 1996. <br />During the early portion of the 1998 field season, the scope of <br />the project was expanded to include a product slurry pipeline <br />from the lease tract to a processing plant in Parachute, <br />Colorado. The scope of the plant survey was expanded to include <br />the proposed pipeline corridor from the lease tract to the <br />Greasewood compressor site 8'/z miles to the east. Approximately <br />300 acres were surveyed in a 200-foot wide corridor to the <br />Greasewood site which encompassed the most easterly extent of the <br />Thirteenmile tongue of the Green River formation. No special <br />status plant species were discovered within this corridor. <br />In addition to the plant surveys for the lease tract and the <br />pipeline corridor, a separate plant survey was conducted by the <br />wSEC for White River Electric Association for a proposed <br />powerline to the American Soda's plant site (copy of WSEC's report <br />is attached). The proposed powerline would originate from an <br />existing line 10 miles east of the plant site. The proposed line <br />would cross exposures of the Thirteenmile tongue on either side <br />of Piceance Creek. The WSEC inventoried a 100-foot wide right-of- <br />way from beginning to terminus. They widened their inventory area <br />to 400-foot (200 feet either side of centerline) at the crossings <br />of exposures of the Thirteenmile tongue. No special status plant <br />species were encountered on exposures east of Piceance Creek. <br />They did locate a colony and an isolated individual of Piceance <br />twinpod west of Piceance Creek. BLM has stipulated that surface <br />disturbance associated with construction and operation of this <br />powerline would not be allowed within 200 feet of these 2 <br />locations. <br />The potential for additional special status plant species was <br />identified from data obtained from the Colorado Natural Heritage <br />Program for portions of the pipeline within the Colorado River <br />corridor, Uinta Basin Hookless cactus (Sclerocactus glaucus), a <br />