Laserfiche WebLink
once considered the area of the Proposed Action to serve as severe winter range <br />for deer and elk. However, more recent site speciftc information from CDOW <br />(Wescoatt, 2001) indicates that this is no longer the case. In the 10 years the mine <br />has been operating, no deer or elk have been injured or killed by mine related <br />vehicles on the haul road. <br />BLM inventories in the general vicinity found that golden eagles and red-tailed <br />hawks use the cliff complex along the north side of the I-70 corridor as nesting <br />habitat. Bald eagle wintering habitat is located along the Eagle River just south <br />of the mine plan amendment area, as is a known bald eagle roost tree. Other <br />raptors likely to hunt or nest in the vicinity include kestrels, sharp-shinned hawks <br />and northern harriers. <br />WestWater Engineering Biologist, Lonnie Renner, performed a raptor survey of <br />all lands within approximately 1/8 mile of the haul road route and the mine area <br />on March 19,2002. The objective of the survey was to determine if any raptor <br />nests were located in or near the proposed project area, and to assess potential <br />effects of the project on known raptor nests and bald eagle use areas located <br />south of the proposed site. The survey concluded: 1) The proposed mine site is <br />topographically screened from know cliff nesting areas along 1-70, as is the <br />existing mine site. The proposed mine site and haul road are unlikely to affect <br />nesting or breeding activity in this area; 2) No nests were found in the surveyed <br />area; 3) Marginal impact may occur on potential prey species in the area of the <br />proposed surface disturbance. This is not likely to result in any significant loss of <br />food or any direct impact to raptors. <br />Soils Information <br />Land type classification of the amended area is similar to the area in the existing <br />mining operation. Local terminology for the land type is "Gypsum Badlands". Existing <br />sparse "topsoil" in the area consists mainly of weathered gypsum (gypsite) and residual <br />volcanic ash. Historically, there has been virtually no interest in the area for agricultural <br />uses or from the Soil Conservation District. Content of Environmental Assessment CO- <br />140-2001-064 EA concerning soils information is quoted below. <br />This description is based on the Soil Survey of the Aspen -Gypsum Area, <br />Colorado, issued in May 1992 by NRCS. Soils that would be disturbed in the <br />project area are classified as Gypsumland-Gypsiorthids complex, 12 to 65 <br />percent slopes and Torriorthents-Rock outcrop complex, 6 to 65 percent slopes. <br />These soils developed from the Eagle Talley Evaporate formation. This formation <br />is composed in part of gypsum deposits in varying quantity and quality in steep <br />mountainside slopes and ridge tops. The slopes are mainly in excess or 30 <br />percent, and commonly range up to 65 percent. Ridge tops range from 6 to 20 <br />percent slopes. Soils of the slopes are very shallow and gypsum outcrops are <br />common. Soils of the ridge tops may reach 3 feet in depth, but more commonly <br />t2 <br />