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3 will not affect water yield. Even storm runoff from the quarry area will be affected little as the site was rocky and thin soiled and had a high run- ' off factor before disturbance. Strain Gulch does accumulate substantial flash-flood flows when high inten- sity rain storms hit the watershed above the quarry. Flood flow through t an unprepared quarry operation could flush crushed rock down Strain Gulch and into Bear Creek, restricting the capacity of the Bear Creek channel and causing other damage. It is therefore essential that provision be made to ' carry the largest likely flood through the quarry site and that the facili- ties be maintained in good condition at all times. ' Under normal flow conditions the quality of Strain Gulch water leaving the quarry site is well within the state quality standards for a class B-2 stream, which is the rating of the receiving stream, Bear Creek. Strain Gulch water does pick up some dissolved solids, in passing through the quarry ' area, but not enough to violate state standards or to influence the quality of the water of Bear Creek. Run-off producing rains wash dust and other ' sediments into the water of Strain Gulch as it passes through the quarry site. It is temporary and has little effect on Bear Creek water however. The flow of Strain Gulch averages only 3/10,000 of the flow of Bear Creek. ' Strain Gulch usually carries fewer Coliform bacteria than Bear Creek. Vegetation, Forage and 4JildTife ' The quarry site includes four plant communities: (1) grassland, (2) moun- tain-mahogony, (3) Rocky Mountain redcedar, and (4) ponderosa pine - Douglas- fir (Figure 2). Heavy grazing in the past caused a general degradation of ' the quality of the grasslands. P1ule deer are browsing some of the shrubs quite heavily. The quarry has destroyed an interesting combination of plant communities. ' Similar combinations are formed elsewhere along the Front Range, however, so the values lost are not unique. No rare or endangered plants were found. The economic values of the lost forage for livestock are minor. The pit area was capable of providing only about eight cow-months of grazing t annually. The area is good habitat for mule deer, cottontail rabbits, a number of species of birds and other wildlife. About 50 acres of good habitat has ' been destroyed. The present significance of the lost habitat is minimized, however, by three conditions: (1) The habitats are not unique. Abundant similar habitats surround the area. (2) The habitat does not appear to be ' saturated with any species of wildlife so displaced individuals can find new homes. (3) No known rare or endangered species use the site. If the surrounding habitats should become fully populated in the future by a species such as wintering mule deer, lack of the 50 acres could reduce carrying ' capacity of the winter range slightly. 1