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~` f s1nTe nF coy ~ rnr~o A~~.~.~en ter....,. ~~~...~~., III IIIIIIIIIIIII111 D EPART'dENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES N arras D. Snerman. Executive Dl rector ~1'11?~EU LaNI~ I{~(a,~il~lA'I'[(DV 723 Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203 Tel. (303) 639-3567 Hamlet J. Darry, I(I, Director December 31, 1979 Mrs. Margaret L•]inters Flatiron Sand & Gravel Company P.O. Box 229 Boulder, Colorado 80306 RE: Wildlife Issues, Bourg Mine Our File 1179-125/c/s Dear Ptargie: Thank you for your letter of December 13, 1979, regarding wildlife mitigation proposals for the Bourg Ptine. I appreciate your update on the measures Flatiron has agreed to implement to attempt to mitigate the potential affect this operation may have on the adjacent sage grouse strutting areas. There were, hocaever, some assertions made concerning the D1LR staff policy which required considerable clarification. My responses are itemized in the order presented in your letter and should be considered as staff policy. 1) Under the new statute the I•TLR Division has no legal mechanism to take the action of declaring an area exempt from mining. Such declarations would be made by the Board in response to a petition from the public. Under my present understanding of the new law, the Division may not initiate such a petition. Of more importance to your situation is a process currently underway in the Department of Interior to revieca all potential lease areas under the unsuitability criteria. In this light any information or reliable studies which demonstrate the effectiveness of certain mitigation techniques caould be valuable in the decision making process at the federal level. 2) As you know, we are currently developing regulations for our permanent regulations. At this point in time any discussion of what may be required under that program is premature. It must be understood that any decisions made by either the Eoard or staff relative to this permit application can legally have no bearing on the requirements which may be imposed under the permanent program. We are simply not operating under those regulations at this time. 3) It seems likely, given the tremendous amount of interest in the grouse populations generated with respect to the proposed mine, that at some point in time the type of study requested by 2ir. 6raun will be required in conjunction with a decision made at the Federal, state ot- local level. However, the current Jackson County stipulation regarding the grouse copulating is somewhat open ended. Any determination as to what specificaiy the. county may require should be made by [he county. An implication that the ;LLR staff can speak for Jackson County is contrary to the policy of this office. (co::S'd)