1994-12-29_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1980007

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A number of other small birds, small mammals, reptiles, and raptors are dependent on the mountain shrub and pinion-juniper habitat types on the review area. Blue grouse have been documented on the area, but no specific portions of the area have been identified as highly important for this species. Riparian areas along the North Fork of the Gunnison River and up Gribble Gulch a short distance could be extremely important for the following bird species of high federal interest: Band-tailed pigeon Lewis' woodpecker Flammulated owl Black swift Prairie falcon Williamson's sapsucker Cooper's hawk Western bluebird Great blue boron These bird species depend heavily on the riparian vegetation, particularly stands of cottonwoods and aspens, for food, cover, and nesting habitat. Such stands provide islands in the surrounding extensive stands of mountain shrub and pinion-juniper habitat type and are considered important to these species. The North Fork of the Gunnison River is habitat for the following species of fish: Rainbow trout Bluehead sucker CO mottled sculpin Brown trout CO speckled dace Western white sucker Cutthroat trout Fathead minnow Flannelmouth sucker Fish are not present in the secondary drainages on the review area due to the absence of perennial waters. • G. Endangered SRecies There is no designated critical habitat on the review area. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has proposed 2,094 river miles of the Colorado River and its tributaries as critical habitat for the Colorado Squawfish, Razorback sucker, Humpback chub, and Bonytailed chub. The following annotated list of Federal and State candidate and listed species have the potential of occurring on the review area, or could be affected by a lease and subsequent coal development. None of the following listed fishes occur on the review area, or in the North Fork of the Gunnison River: Sonytail chub (Gila slegans) Federal i State Endangered CO River squawfish (Ptychocheilus Iucius) Federal i State Endangered Humpback chub (Gila cypha) Federal i State Endangered Razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) Federal i State Endangered However, the Upper Colorado River Basin, of which the North Fork of the Gunnison River is a tributary, does support populations of these fish. The squawfish and razorback sucker have been known to occur in the lower Gunnison River. Critical habitat for these species has been proposed for 2, 094 river miles in the Colorado River system. • Bald eagles, (9aliaeetus leucocephalus) , Federal i State Endangered species, are known to winter in the region of the Page 8