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• XIII. Protection of Fish, Wildlife, and Related Environmental Values A. The Division of Wildlife has indicated that the primary impacts from mining along the North Fork of the Gunnison River are increased traffic resulting in road kills and disturbance to deer and elk migration, and emission of toxic substances into the river, which degrades the North Fork of the Gunnison River fishery (Exhibit 10, Bear No. 3 permit revision application). Traffic-related impacts to wildlife will not increase due to mining at the Bear No. 3 Mine. No increase in coal production at the Bear Mine is anticipated; therefore, no increase in mine-related traffic is expected. Traffic on Highway 133 will not be significantly increased as a result of operations at the mine. Runoff from the surface facilities area at the Bear Mine will be routed through a sediment pond. Discharges will meet the effluent limitations of Rule 4.05.2, minimizing the mining impacts on the water quality of the North Fork of the Gunnison River. Reclamation of the Bear No. 1 and 2 portal and facilities area was completed in 1986. Completion of reclamation work and increased vegetative cover will reduce the quantity of runoff generated at the site. No ponds containing hazardous concentrations of toxic-forming materials exist on the permit area. The application does not propose the use of persistent pesticides on the area during surface mining and reclamation operations. • No impact on the water quality of the North Fork of the Gunnison River is expected to result from mine-related effluent migrating through the alluvial body underlying the Bear No. 3 facilities. Effluent which enters the river from the facilities area will be diluted to acceptable levels by the much larger volume of water in the river. Monitoring data from alluvial wells indicates that no effluent has passed through the alluvium. The northern bald eagle is the only rare or endangered wildlife species inhabiting the study area. Eagles are winter residents of the North Fork Valley. Electric transmission and distribution lines within the permit have been constructed to the specifications of Rule 4.18, to ensure the protection of large raptors (Figure 4, Bear No. 3 revision application). i• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported the existence of a golden eagle nest in the cliffs above the Bear No. 3 portal prior to original permit issuance. Bear Coal Company conducted a survey and determined that the nest was not active in 1982 in compliance with previous Stipulation No. 7. The Division determined that no mitigation plan was warranted. A letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding review of Permit Revision No. 1 indicated that, because no additional surface disturbance was proposed, the only impact they were concerned with was depletion of water from the upper Colorado River Basin. Formal consultation on water depletion was initiated with USFWS, and the required fees were paid into the "Windy Gap" fund. 27