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Mine was designed to emphasize the reestablishment of the sagebrush habitat. The sagebmsh habitat is critical to the lifecycle of the sage grouse. One of the state's largest sage grouse strutting grounds was adjacent to the mine site. On site observations by the DMG during inspections and by the operator indicate sage grouse have returned to the reclaimed mine and utilize the reclaimed areas. This is further substantiated by the DOW sage grouse research conducted in the North Park area (Remington and Braun, 1991). DOW research has shown that mining in North Park did have an impact on local sage grouse populations. The Denmark lek, adjacent to the Bourg Mine went from a peak of 144 males in 1980 pre-mining to zero in 1985 after mining commenced and the haul road was put in right next to it. A satellite lek (Turkey) sprang up further up the same drainage, but it peaked at 60 birds. Denmark began recovering once mining ceased and in recent years has hovered around 70, while Turkey has steadily declined since mining activity ceased to around 5 birds. Bottom line is the population in that area is probably at historical norms; mining displaced birds but probably did not reduce populations. (Comments from T. Remington, December 23, 1999). Mine structures on site have been reclaimed with the exception of a domestic well, septic system, perimeter fence, gravel yard and concrete building foundation. Originally, Mrs. Ida B. Peep, and subsequently Nielson & Associates, as land owners, have requested that these structures be left. This request was approved by the DMG. Two roads were approved for retention. First, the light-use perimeter road is required by BLM to act as a buffer between the reclaimed mine and surrounding BLM lands. The road will be retained. The second road was constructed by the landowners, Nielson & Associates, Inc. and Nucor Oil & Gas, Inc. for purposes of ingress and egress to a nearby well owned by Nielson and Nucor. Probable HydroloQic Consequences of Mining The probable hydrologic consequences of mining at the Bourg site were evaluated in the original permit application. The predicted consequences to surface water were: (1) that the runoff from the mine area would be increased; and (2) that a portion of the runoff would be stored in sedimentation ponds and lost to evaporation. At this point, neither of these consequences are.realized. The original analysis pointed out that the Bourg property makes up only 14% of the total area of the Mann Draw drainage area. As such, runoff would need to be significantly enhanced to cause negative impacts. Visual inspection confirms no evidence of high mnoff. All sediment ponds were removed in 1988 and there has been no loss to evaporation since then. These findings indicate that there are no detrimental surface water impacts from the reclaimed Bourg Strip Mine. Bourg Mine 8 Final Bond Release Permit No. C-81-021 January 18, 2000