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<br />BOTANICAL SURVEY REPORT ON HIGHWAY 50 BORROW AREA N0.2 AT <br />KANNAH CREEK, MESA COUNTY, COLORADO FOR SLAM CONSTRUCTION <br />by <br />Joann W. Young and Robert G. Young <br />June 22, 1999 <br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br />A botanical survey of Highway 50 Borrow Area at Kannah Creek conducted by the <br />writers on June 22, 1999, encountered no Threatened and/or Endangered plant species. <br />The possible presence of the Endangered cactus Sclerocactus glaucus was investigated, <br />but no cacti were found within the generally cactus-intolerant environment of the <br />proposed barrow. Providing excavation activities are confined to the surveyed area, the <br />writers conclude that there will be no harm done to rare plant species. <br />INTRODUCTION <br />The writers (dba Western Slope Environmental Consultants, or WSEC) were asked by <br />Tom Logue of Elam Construction, Inc. to conduct a botanical survey of the proposed <br />21.93-acre Highway 50 Borcow Area No.2 at Kannah Creek, in Mesa County about 16 <br />miles southeast of the city of Grand ]unction. More precisely, the subject Property is <br />located in the 5W1/4 Sec.32, T.2 S., R.2 E., Ute Meridian (Fig.l). This plant survey was <br />completed on June 22, 1999. <br />As shown in figure 2, the Property is located on land belonging to three separate <br />individuals. The northern portion (Pazcel B) is owned by Hamet Whiting do Rodney <br />Whiting, the central portion (Parcel C) by John L. Whiting cJo Rodney Whiting, and the <br />southern fringe (Parcel D) by Rodney Whiting. <br />The area of the proposed borrow, Qagged by Elam surveyors prior to this survey , is a <br />portion of the gently southwestward-sloping floodplain of Kannah Creek. Most of the <br />surface is relatively smooth, ranging from an elevation of about 4,826 feet at the <br />northeastern edge to about 4,816 feet at the southwest comer. However, the southeastern <br />edge of the Property exhibits old meander scazs of Kannah Creek expressed as shallow <br />swales along which water still seeps. This Property in now used mostly for pasturage, but <br />it has, at times, been punted to alfalfa and other crops. <br />NEED FOR STUDY <br />The need for this botanical survey was to determine whether or not there were any rare <br />plants on the Property that would need to be protected from the proposed excavation. It is <br />known that the Endangered plant species Sclerocaclus glaucus (Uinta Basin hookless <br />cactus) has been reported from this general area. No other rare plants are known to occur <br />