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r <br />., <br />• Well BRLI-GRW-01 <br />Page 2 <br />August l3, 2001 <br />the ridge. The drill site and sun•ounding area is dominated by gambel oak. The oak are of different <br />age classes with younger bushes being 3-5 feet in height and older bushes of up to 10 feet. There <br />are a few serviceberry and pinyon pine scattered throughout the area. Ln the understory there are a <br />few snowberry, grasses and fortis. Construction and drilling at this site should have little impact on <br />either habitat or wildlife in the area. Proper revegetation of the site will result in grasses and fortis <br />replacing some shtvbs. This will improve the area for wildlife by providing plant species that do <br />not currently exist. <br />Access Road <br />The access road corridor traverses a bench from an existing road to the drill site. The entire route is <br />dominated by Gimbel oak. a!lhough there tare places where serviceberv is the dominate species in <br />the overstory. Along that portion of the corridor on the bench Gimbel oak is up to 30 feet whit <br />serviceberry reaching 20 feet. Nearer the drill site both the oak and serv•iceberry are not as tall <br />which is undoubtedly a function of soil and moisture conditions In some locations where moisture <br />and soil conditions are suitable there aze chokecherry bushes to I5+ feet. snowberry is also found <br />in the understory along most of the corridor. There are also openings in the shrub corrununity <br />along the bench. These areas arc usually only a few hundred feet in size and aze vegetated almost <br />exclusively with grasses and fot`ns. In some instances snowberry is also found in these openings. <br />• There is also a small constructed pond above the proposed read a few hundred fee[ from the <br />junction with an existing road. The water level and vegetation around the pond indicate that it is <br />probably fed by a small spring. There are no willows around the pond. There is oak, servicebeny <br />and chokecherry on the uphill side of the pond. The area immediately around the pond and on the <br />data is vegetated with grasses and some fortis. There are no willows around the pond. This pond <br />is approximately 200 hundred Ceet uphill from the proposed road corridor and would not be <br />affected by road construction or activity on the road. <br />Construction of the access road should not adversely affect wildlife habitat in the area. Because <br />most of the oak and servicebetry are overmature their removal and replacement with grasses and <br />fortis and younger age class shrubs should benefit wildlife in the area. <br />WILDLIFE <br />Threatened & Endangered or Species of Concern <br />During surveys on August 4, i no Threatened, Endangered. Species of Concem or migratory bird <br />species of high federal and/or state interest were observed wi[hin the study area. PrefetTed habitat <br />for all species listed is lacking hoth along the access road and at the site. <br />During a phone conversation with Jim Ferguson (BLM) we discussed the pond found near the <br />access road and the possibility that boreal toads, northern leopard frogs or southwestem willow <br />tlycatchers may be present. Subsequent to that conversation the pond was again checked for <br />activity by these species. The total absence of willows and general habitat condition ruled out the <br />possibility of southwestem willow flycatchers using this location. The pond .vas closely checked <br />. for amphibian activity. There were no frogs or toads observed nor were any tadpoles obsen•ed. <br />There were immature salamanders (larvae) in the pond, but due to twbidity in the water they could <br />not be identified. <br />