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<br />• Several additional plant species that occur in the project area are considered to be <br />rare or sensitive even though they have no federal threatened or endangered status. <br />Astrngalus lutostrs (dragon milkvetch) is currently aBLM-sensitive species that is <br />described as being endemic to "gypsum knolls" in the Piceance Creek Basin <br />(Colorado Natural Heritage Program 1998a, Weber and Wittman 1996). Populations <br />of this species have been identified within the Piceance Site and elsewhere in the <br />Piceance Creek watershed. According to the BLM, Astragnltrs lrrtosus will likely be <br />removed from the BLM-sensitive list in the near future (BLM 1998b). Festuca <br />dnsyclnda (Utah fescue) is found on moderate to steep exposed slopes or on talus at <br />the base of slopes and also on relatively moist, rocky streambanks on soils of the <br />Green River shale formation and Uinta sandstone formation (Colorado Natural <br />Heritage Program 1998a). Populations of Utah fescue have been identified along <br />Barnes Ridge near the middle of the project pipeline corridor. According to the <br />BLM, Festtrca dasyclndn may be added to the BLM-sensitive list in the near future <br />(BLM 1998b). Three other plant species, Lesquerella pnrviflorn, Thalictrum <br />heliophillrm, and Mentzelin argillosn, which are considered to be "vulnerable" or <br />"imperiled" in the state and throughout their ranges, occur along the pipeline <br />corridor (Colorado Natural Heritage Program 1998a). Lesquerella parviflorn is <br />endemic to shales in the Piceance Basin, and Thnlicfrrrnr ITeliopltilurn and <br />Mentzelin argillosn both occur on steeply sloping and constantly moving talus or <br />scree slopes of the Green River shale formation. None of the latter three plant <br />species is on the BLM-sensitive list. Documented locations of these five species <br />• along the pipeline corridor, delineated to section, are shown in Figure 7-25 (source: <br />Colorado Natural Heritage Program 1998a). Once final pipeline routing has been <br />established, the BLM will be asked to review it with respect to specific known <br />locations of these and any other rare or sensitive plant species (Steigers 1998, BLM <br />1998e). <br />7.9.2 Wildlife <br />According to the BLM, the bald eagle (Hnliaeehrs leucocephnlus) is the only known <br />threatened or endangered wildlife species that may make occasional use of the <br />Piceance Site (BLM 1982). Foraging eagles are regularly encountered in the Piceance <br />Creek Basin during the winter months, but their foraging activities appear to be <br />widely dispersed and wholly opportunistic. There is no documentation of preferred <br />or concentrated use areas (Denison 1989). <br />Two wildlife species, the Great Basin spadefoot toad (Spen irltermorttana) and the <br />western yellowbelly racer (Coltrber constrictor mormon), that occur in the project <br />area are considered to be rare or sensitive even though they have no federal <br />threatened or endangered status. While they are "demonstrably secure globally," <br />these species are considered to be "vulnerable" within Colorado (Colorado Natural <br />Heritage Program 1998a). Documented locations of these species along the pipeline <br />corridor, delineated to section, are shown in Figure 7-26 (source: Colorado Natural <br />• Heritage Program 1998a). <br />American Soda, L.L.P. 7-43 <br />Commerual Mine Plan <br />August 18, 1998 <br />