REP42775 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Bluestone and Section 16 Wildlife Issues Report Western Aggregates, Inc. Ferruginous Hawk ' Ferruginous hawks are winter residents in the vicinity of the project area and casual summer visitors i Thompson and Strauch 1985, 1986, 1987, Andrews and Righter 1992, USDOE t 1994a). During winter, these hawks are closely associated with prairie dog towns. Boulder County regularly supports some of the largest winter concentrations of these hawks in North America. There are no prairie dog towns on, or in the vicinity of, either the Bluestone or ' Section l6 parcels that would be adversely affected by proposed mining activities. Habitats on both sites are not considered important for this species, although they may occasionally be huntl;d. 1 ' White-frlced Ibis White-f~lced ibis are migrants in the vicinity of the project area (Thompson and Strauch ' 1985, 1986, 1987, Andrews and Righter 1992). These waterbirds nest in colonies, usually in large stands of bulrushes or cattails, but they have also nested in heronries (Bent 1926). During Inigration in Colorado, they are typically associated with mudflats, some herbaceous ' wetlands, and the littoral zone of ponds and lakes. There are no suitable nesting or migratory habitats for this species on either proposed mining area. Ibis have no affinity to ' the cobt~le and course gravel substrate composing the shoreline around RFP Reservoir. Ibis have apparently not been detected within the RFP buffer zone (USDOE 1994a). ' Mountain Plover ' Mountain plovers are former breeders considered to have been extirpated in the vicinity of the project area (Andrews and Righter 1992, Hallock 1993). They are a species closely associated with undisturbed short-grass prairie (Graul 1973). The Pawnee Grasslands, located about 50 miles northeast of the project area, is considered the present "stronghold" of the species. Plovers have not been observed on (USDOE 1994a} or in the vicinity of the ' project area (Figgs 1986, Thompson and Strauch 1985, 1986, 1987, Andrews and Righter 1992, H•311ock 1993). Habitats on proposed mining areas are unsuitable for this species. 1 Western Snowy Plover 1 Snowy plovers are uncommon spring and fall migrants whose secondary range extends up the South Platte Valley to include the northeastern tip of Jefferson Couniy (Andrews and ' Righter 1992). This distribution does not include the project area and there are no breeding records from this area (Bailey and Niedrach 1965, Chase et al. 1982, Andrews and Righter ' 1992). 191igrant snowy plovers are associated with alkali flats around reservoirs, mudflats, and sandy shorelines. These habitats are absent on both proposed mining areas, with the 1 Western Ec~syslems, Ine ]] December, 1994