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STATE OF COLORADO Bill Ritter, Jr., Governor t ~ DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES t/ DIVISION OF WILDLIFE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Bruce McCloskey, Director 6060 Broadway Denver, Colorado 80216 Telephone: (303) 297-1192 wild[ifestate.ca.us ~F~;Ir'~\,~~~ /APR 2 3 2007 Di ision of Reclamation, Mining and Safety April 10, 2007 Colorado Division of Wildlife Pueblo Service Center _ 600 Reservoir Road Pueblo, CO 81005 Mr. David A Bird, Environmental Protection Specialist Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety 1313 Sherman St., Room 215 ` Denver, CO 80203 RE: Mullett Excavating, LLC., Mooney Hills Permit, M-2007-007 Dear Mr. Bird; For ~Idlife- For People Recently the Colorado Division of Wildlife received a request for written comments concerning a proposed aggregate, road base, and fill extraction pit permit in Las Animas County. This permit'is known as the Mooney Hills Permit and operated by Mullet Excavating, LLC. This request was forwarded to District Wildlife Manager Jeremy Gallegos for site inspection. DWM Gallegos was able to inspect the affected area to assess the impacts on wildlife that this proposed action may have. Wildlife species that may be commonly found on the site and surrounding areas are mule deer, pronghorn, scaled quail, western rattle snake, bull snake, as well various bird species. There were no black tailed prairie dogs found on the. site. The area can.best be categorized as short grass prairie with several small hills leading to a small plateau. _ Disturbance to the shortgrass prairie habitat is likely to occur due to the proposed action; however this disturbance can be minimized if some recommendations are followed. • Care should be taken in the design and construction of access roads to the site to minimize erosion, taking into account proper drainage and sloping of road cuts. Slopes should be seeded with a native seed mix and monitored for successful vegetation establishment. • A stockpile oftopsoil should be set aside for reclamation purposes. This stockpile should also be temporarily seeded to minimize erosion losses, and then spread over the affected prior to seeding with native grasses, fortis, and shrubs. • It is recommended that livestock be excluded from the site until such time as the site is released and the bond returned. • A noxious weed plan should also be developed and implemented to eliminate the establishment of invasive noxious weeds throughout the mining period. DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, Hams D. Sherman, Executive Diredor WILDLIFE COMMISSION, Jeffrey Crawford, Chair • Tom Burke, Uce Chair • Claire O'Neal, Secretary Members, Robert Bray • Brad Coors • Rick Enstrom • Richard Ray • James McAnaly • Ken Torres Ex Othdo Members, Hams Sherman and John Stulp