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Bluestone and Section 16 Wildlife Issues Repon Western Aggregates, Inc ~~ water storage reservoir is to be constructed for the life of the mine along the east side of Section 16 in the upper south fork of Woman Creek. Impounded water from ' most sediment ponds would infiltrate into the alluvium around the dams and contribute to groundwater. Some water from the larger Section 16 pond wou]d be ' released from the bottom of the dam to feed Woman Creek. Sediment ponds would not represent barriers to up drainage mouse movements if suitable vegetation is present above and below ponds, such as that flanking larger sediment ponds in the ' Walnut Creek tributary, just north of the RFP, where PJM has been captured ' 4. As partial compensation for reduced surface runoff, or as enhancement (and only if' it would be considered beneficial by biological consensus), surface flows into ' drainages below mining areas could be enhanced via some distribution of surface release. ' S. The reclamation plan could be modified to extend potential PJM habitat up drainage into reclaimed mining areas. This plan could be developed after more ' ecological and life history data are collected from buffer zone studies. In conflict with t}Iis, however, is the desire by some commentators to replant native, upland tall grass species. ' With th<: above commitments, it is unlikely that there would be any measurable affects on PJM habitat below mining areas. In the long term, the complete package of PJM-related ' commitments would not only help protect some of the most important PJM habitat in the buffer zone, but it could also minimally expand the mouse's local distribution. t This same conclusion was reached for the approved RFP landfill (i.e., "...no threatened or endangered or candidate species would be affected by the proposed action.", USDOE 1994b, ' page 9), which is immediately contiguous with potential PJM habitat to the north and south, and approximately 3,834 feet up drainage from the closest PJM captured to date (EG&G 1994b). This 36 acre, lined landfill, would be excavated 20-35 feet into the ground. ' 4.2 THREATENED, ENDANGERED, AND CANDIDATE SPECIES ' The following federally threatened, endangered, and candidate species have historic ranges overlapping the Bluestone and Section 16 mining areas and were considered in the ' Environtnental Assessment prepared for the approved RFP sanitary landfill (USDOE 1994a). L_ 1 1 Wes~ern Ecosystems, Inc. t3 December, 1994