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• III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 999 .. TJnited States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Ecological Services 764 Horizon Drive, Building B Grand Junction, Colorado 81506-3946 iN REPLY REFER TO: ES/CO:MSO MS 65412 GJ June 28, 2000 Rob Mangone, Vice President Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt, Inc. 1910 Rand Avenue ~._ g~ ` O~ 3 Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906 Dear Mr. Mangone RECEIVED JUN 2 9 2000 t. GcU~_ci:;Y At your request, this is a follow-up letter to our May 15's, 2000, meeting and your May 18`", letter regarding the Red Canyon Rock Quarry operations and impacts to the Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidenta[is lucidaJ. According to the May 18"' letter, you expect an access road to be built into the southwest quarter of the State school section within two years and benching of the mountaintops and sides to begin within 5 years. The proposed mining azea in the southwest quazter is an interim proposal until radio-telemetry studies of the owls home range are completed. Should mining take place in the southwest quarter of the school section before studies aze completed, mining operations will stay within the boundaries established on [he map attached to the May 18`h letter. Obviously, no more than 40 acres can be mined in the southwest quarter to keep incompliance with reclamation requirements under your Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology permit. Completion of the home range study may allow for further establishment of areas that can be mined without impacting owls occupying the Red Creek Canyon azea. We agree to the proposed mining boundary areas on the map attached to the May 18'~ letter acid agree that mining will not take place lower than 7,500 foot elevation, thouggh access roads would necessanly have to cross Red Creek and would be lower than 7,500 feet. We recommend that you contact the U.S. Anny Corps of Engineers' Pueblo Office (719/543-9459) in regards to any potential permits that may be needed under the Clean Water Act for the road crossings. We concur that the proposed mining azea ("take avoidance azea") is outside of the Protected Activity Center established for the owls based on currently available information. We agree with your proposal to not conduct any blasting from dusk to daylight and do not object to posting the State school section with sins warning about threatened species in the area to try to prevent disturbance to the o~.vs. We also agree that your monttonng of future nesting and foraging activities of the owl aze necessary and that coordination with the Service will continue. We are pleased to see that it is your intent to budget for monitoring of the owls and to develop a Habitat Conservation Plan, if monitoring of the owl proves it to be necessary. If we can be of further assistance, please contact Terry Ireland at the letterhead address or (970) 243-2778. Sincerely, ~, ~. Pit, Allan R. Pfister Assistant Colorado Field Supervisor This is your future. Don't leave it blank. -Support t/ie 2000 Cetrsrrs.