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INTRODQCTION <br />• A preliminary assessment of wildlife resources in Dowe Flats <br />and the surrounding area was conducted for proposed mining and <br />reservoir development scenarios in Dowe Flats. The Rurpose <br />of this assessment was to (1) assemble information on local <br />wildlife habitats and resources, (2) use this information as <br />a basis for identifying the necessity and scope of future baseline <br />studies and sampling efforts, (3) identify wildlife issues that <br />will have to be addressed during future baseline studies and <br />impact assessment, and (4) use all of the above for project <br />feasibility analyses and planning. ~Aildlife was one component <br />of a multidisciplinary assessment which also included the disciplines <br />of soils, vegetation, wetlands and aquatic ecosystems, agriculture, <br />recreation, archeology, and cultural history. <br />STDDY AREA <br />Dowe Flats is located in northeastern Boulder County, Colorado <br />(T3N, R70W, 59, 10, 15, 16, 20 and 22), north of State Highway <br />66, and approximately 2.5 miles east of Lyons. The privately-owned <br />project area encompasses approximately 2.5 square miles and <br />most of Dowe Flats (Fig.l). Elevations range from approximately <br />5,230 feet at the North St. Vrain Creek to 5,900 feet on Indian <br />Mountain. <br />• Dowe Flats lies in the transitional foothills zone of Colorado's <br />Front Range between grasslands of the Great Plains physiographic <br />province and the mountains of the Southern Rocky Mountains province <br />(Boulder County 1984). This topographic area, which is 2 to <br />4 miles wide, is characterized by long, parallel north-south <br />"hogback" ridges separated by valleys. <br />Over 90B of the property is currently used for cattle grazing <br />and wheat, corn, alfalfa and other hay production. Several <br />small natural drainages intermittently flow through the property <br />north to south (AWC 1987). Four irrigation canals contour through <br />the southern end of the property, north of Highway 66. The <br />Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District's St. Vrain Supply <br />Canal flows southwest through the north and western periphery <br />of the property. <br />Dominant surrounding land uses are primarily agricultural, <br />recreational, undeveloped, and low-density residential. Rabbit <br />Mountain, a 1,119 acre parcel of Boulder County's Open Space <br />System, is contiguous with the project area's eastern flank. <br />1 <br />• <br />