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Volume III, Appendix L(iii)
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<br />~ CJnited Sta.~es Depar~znent of fhe rntel"io~
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<br />FISH A.Nb VIrYLDf,TFL &fiRVIC&
<br />RaM s °~~ I?colOgical SCtYiCCS
<br />764 Horizon Drive, Building 8
<br />GrandJuriction, Caiarsdo SiSOG-3946
<br />nv turei.Y r~aR 70.
<br />FS/CO:OSM
<br />TAILS 45413-2006-I--0041
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<br />rune 1 b, 2006 ,~ „~
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<br />Mczliorandutn
<br />Ta: iJaairal Resource Specialist, Offer of3urfaceIVtining, Reclama#iou and
<br />Bnfarcement, Denver, Colorado
<br />Fmm: Western Colorado Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Strviccs, Grand
<br />' Junotion, Colorado ~~~ ~~~
<br />Subject: Comments on the &eIogical Assessment for McGlone Canyon Mine, PermitNo. G
<br />1980-OD~I, and Munger Canyon Mine, permit G8l -O2U
<br />This is in response to your letter dated April 13, 2006, reinitiating consultation regarding Permit
<br />Renewal Application IJo. 6 for the McCune Canyon Mine, Permit No. Cr19S0-004. The
<br />application was submitted to your office by Central Appalachia Mining, Ll:C. The McClane
<br />Canyon Arne is an undergromid coal operation agproximatciy 19 miles north of Loma, on
<br />private property and loads managed by the Bureau of Land Adanagemeirt, in Garfield County,
<br />Colorado. The permitted surface disturbance is 9.5 acres, The existiAg permit wiri expixc July 6,
<br />2006. The nearby Hamper Canyon Mine, Permit No. C-8I-020, is included in the consn'ita#ion
<br />because this site is to be used as awaste rock disposal area for materials from the 1VieClane
<br />A+Yine. Tile pomutted surface disturbance gor the waste rock disposal site at the N[utiger Canyon
<br />Mine is 4.9 sores.
<br />The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service {Service) provides these comixients under the authority of;
<br />and ixi accordance with, the provisions of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1473, as
<br />amended (I6 C1.S.C.1531 et seq.), and the Interagency Cooperation Regulations (50 CFR 402).
<br />Your letter includes effects dctcrminations for the bald eagle, Mexican spatted owl, Canada lynx,
<br />Uinta basin hooklcss cactus, yellow billed cuckoo, Do Heque phacelia, and Parachute
<br />penstemon. In prepaxing this response, tho Service also reviewed the effects analyses and
<br />determinations in the document entitled, `Biological Assessment, DMG Pcrnut RcuGUVals
<br />McGlone Canyon and Hangar Canyon Mines, Garfield County, Colorado" (BA), prepared for
<br />J.B. Stover & Associates, Inc. byItare Barth Science, LLC.
<br />'Your analysis 8rrives at `5no effect" determinations for the Mexican spotted owl, Canada lynx,
<br />Uinta basin hoakless cactus, De Eeque phaeelia, and Parachute penstemon. The BA and your
<br />tiiialysis found (here was no suitable habitat far the Mexican spotted owI or Canada lynx at the
<br />site, White a small stretch of Munger Crack near its East Salt Creek confluence contained
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