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Wildlife <br />Numerous wildlife species inhabit the general area. The <br />most prominent big game species, mule deer and elk, utilize <br />the mountain shrub habitat in and adjacent to the permit- <br />mining plan area throughout the year. The northern bald <br />eagle is a winter resident along the North Fork, and is the <br />only rare or endangered wildlife species in the area. The <br />North Fork from Paonia Reservoir downstream five miles to <br />Somerset is stocked by the Division of Wildlife with rainbow <br />trout and supports an estimated 2,000 angler days per year. <br />Below Somerset to the confluence with the Gunnison, the <br />fishery is less important, with rough fish making up a <br />larger portion of the fish population. <br />Surface Water Hvdrologv <br />The mine and processing facilities are located within the <br />North Fork drainage which drains generally westward to the <br />Gunnison River and subsequently into the Colorado River. <br />The North Fork subdrainage ranges in altitude from 5,500 <br />feet to 12,000 feet and drains 1,253 square miles, producing <br />an average annual discharge of 469,300 ac-ft, or an average <br />discharge of 650 cubic feet per second (cfs). The average <br />annual discharge of the North Fork River adjacent to the <br />minesite is 315,200 ac-ft, or an average discharge of 435 <br />cfs. Peak flows generally occur in May as a result of <br />snowmelt and minimum flows occur during the winter months. <br />Maximum discharge for the period of record (43 years) was <br />7,860 cfs on June 4, 1957; minimum daily discharge of 17 cfs <br />occurred on November 10, 1950. <br />Surface drainage on the lease tract is directed to the North <br />Fork River. The tract is drained by a number of <br />comparatively small steep watersheds that empty directly <br />into the North Fork River. The largest of these is Lone <br />Pine gulch. All have ephemeral stream flow. <br />The North Fork is slightly alkaline with dissolved solids <br />concentrations increasing downstream primarily due to <br />agricultural return flows. Nutrient levels (ammonia, <br />nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate) are not excessively high. <br />With the exception of occasionally anomalous iron levels, <br />there is no evidence of high dissolved metals content. <br />There are no areas subject to frequent flooding in the <br />permit-mining plan area and adjacent areas. <br />6 <br />