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6.4.8 Exhibit H -Wildlife Information Wildlife Assessment Site Description Savage and Savage conducted a wildlife assessment for the Northern Colorado Constructors, Inc. Pit #1 site on September 5, 2001. The site investigation consisted of a pedestrian and vehicle inspection of approximately 100 acres located within the E'/zSE~/a of Section 24, Township 2 North, Range 67 West of the Sixth Prime Meridian, Weld County, Colorado (see General Location Map). The property is bounded on the east by Weld County Road 25, on the south by Weld County Road 18, and on the west and north by a fence line. We accessed the property via an existing road that enters on the northeast comer and an existing road that enters on the southwest corner. Both of these roads are used to maintain oil and gas resources on the site. The weather during our site investigation was warm and dry with the high temperature azound 89°F. The average elevation of the site is 4860 feet and the property is essentially flat. The South Platte River is a perennial drainage that is located approximately one-half mile east of the site. The dominant soils of the site are aquolls and aquents and Bankazd sandy loam (USDA, 1980). The site is a mix of dry uplands and marshlands. The uplands are dominated by pasture grass and weedy species. Specific species found in the uplands include smooth brome (Bromus tlrermis), cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), and several species of wheatgrass (Agropyron sp. ). Marshlands aze found throughout the site. A jurisdictional wetland delineation conducted in 2000 concluded there are approximately 32.1 acres of wetlands on the site (Queen of the River Fisheries, 2000). Vegetation within the marshlands includes cattail (Typha latifolia), three-square (Scilpus americarms), Baltic rush (Juncos balticus), and spike rush (Eleocharis palustris). A few plains cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) are found along wet marshy areas, but the majority are located in the dry uplands. A clump of approximately 50 cottonwood trees is located within the northeast comer of the site and a second smaller clump of approximately 15 cottonwood trees is located within the northwest corner of the site. Of the trees located within the northwest comer of the site approximately one-third aze senescent. Signifuant R'ildlife Resources Tables 1, 2, and 3 list wildlife species that potentially occur on-site according to the Colorado Distribution Latilong Studies (CDOW, 1981, 1990, 1998). The latilong studies address mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. During our site investigation we encountered a number of avian species. Two immature Swainson's hawks were seen perching in the northwest clump of cottonwood trees and on utility lines along the east boundary of the site. Other identified bird species included mallards (Arras p/alyrlrynchos), killdeer (Charadrius vocifervs), mourning doves