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fi/e: o~oz y - /3-Y " ts-/r.,Es - .~7.~d~ es <br />• • <br />Savage and Savage <br />praciicat solutions for errvironmentat problems <br />464 West Sumac Court <br />Louisville, Colorado 80027-2227 <br />303 66(x7372 telephone <br />303 665-6808 facsimile <br />May 29, 2001 <br />Scott J. Keen <br />Banks and Gesso, LLC <br />720 Kipling, Suite 117 <br />Lakewood, Colorado 802] 5 <br />Re: Preliminary Site Investigation for Roadgate Farms Project, Adams County, Colorado <br />Dear Mr. Keen: <br />On May 18, 2001, Savage and Savage conducted a preliminary site investigation of the <br />Roadgate Farms Project that will be developed for water storage and mineral extraction. <br />The purpose of the site investigation was to assess the likelihood of encountering <br />jurisdictional wetlands and potential critical habitat for Preble's meadow jumping mice <br />(Zapus hudsonius preble~~, Ute ladies'-tresses orchids (Spiranthes diluvialis), and western <br />burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia). <br />The site investigation consisted of a pedestrian inspection of the site where development <br />will take place. The site is approximately 35 acres located within in the NE'/,SW'/+ and a <br />portion of the NW%+SE'/+ of Section 35 iu T1S, R67W of the 6'~ Prime Meridian in <br />Adams County, Colorado. The property is located east of Henderson, Colorado, south of <br />124's Avenue, and immediately west of U.S. Highway 85. The site has previously bee^ <br />used for mineral extraction and consists of a large circulaz open pit that is bordered by a <br />reclaimed upland area that is approximately 25 to 50 feet wide. Standing water is present <br />within the periphery of the pit azea. Vegetation within the upland and side slope areas <br />consisted of smooth brome, crested wheatgrass, and cheatgrass. Plant species within the <br />open pit included a dozen small to medium plains cottonwoods saplings and trees, curly <br />dock, and a cattail fringe along the waters edge. Herbaceous vegetation within the open <br />pit is sparse and weedy due to a colony of black-tailed prairie dogs that inhabits the dry <br />sandy areas. Findings of the preliminary site investigation aze detailed below. The <br />general location of any critical potential habitat for species of special concern, Waters of <br />the United States, and potential jurisdictional wetlands are depicted on the attached map. <br />Waters of the United States <br />Waters of the United States, regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USAGE), <br />are all waters which were, are, or could be used in interstate commerce; and in Colorado <br />include (but are not limited to) rivers, streams, ponds, sloughs, and wetlands. The <br />Roadgate Farms site is approximately 0.5 miles east of the South Platte River and is <br />sepazated from the tributary system by natural earthen topography. There are no surface <br />water connections with the South Platte River. As such, the open water within the pit <br />area is considered to be isolated, and therefore unregulated by the USAGE. However, <br />