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FINDINGS <br />Site IP2001-21 and Access Road Habitat Survey <br />This site is located at approxunately 8090 feet near the end of Iron Point ridge. The drill site <br />location is on a generally flat area and is entirely within a Gambel Oak vegetation community. <br />There are some serviceberry, snowberry, grasses and fortis. In neazby drainages sandstone <br />outcroppings aze common. Holes, cracks, depressions and small caves are found throughout <br />these outcroppings. <br />The site is categorized as a Gambel Oak vegetation community. The area is dominated by late <br />sera] stage Gambel Oak with some being in the early sera] stage. Serviceberry and snowberry aze <br />also found azound this site. <br />None of the Gambel oak are over twenty feet in height and other woody species such as <br />snowberry provide somewhat of an understory. <br />Site IP 2001-21 and Access Road Wildlife Survey <br />Threatened & Endangered or Species of Concern <br />Along both the road corridor and at the dn71 site wildlife observed was similar to that observed at <br />other locations in the study area. Again, suitable habitat was generally lacking for nearly all <br />~~ species of concern listed in the EIS. There is a possibility that loggerhead shrdces and raptors <br />could forage in the area, but no other listed bird species, other than a chance occurrence would be <br />encountered in this area. This is a very dry site with no neazby water which would eliminate the <br />possibility of amplu'bians. Potential impacts to fisheries would not be a concern at this site. <br />There were no species of special concern observed either along the proposed road corridor or at <br />the drill site. Suitable habitat is lacking for most of those species listed in the EIS. <br />Raptors <br />There is no suitable habitat azound the drill site for raptor nesting. There is an aspen stand just <br />north of the road corridor that could be used by raptors for nesting, but this is doubtful. Surveys <br />of the stand showed it to provide low quality nesting habitat for raptors. It is an old age stand, is <br />very open and does not provide nesting sites typically used by accipiters. There was no evidence <br />of previous nesting by raptors. Cliffs in the Hubbard Creek and Iron Point Gulch drainages were <br />surveyed for raptor nests, white wash and other evidence of raptor activity. No evidence of <br />raptor use was observed although Golden eagles, red-tailed hawks and Turkey vultures were <br />observed flying in the area. ' <br />3 <br />