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EXHIBIT H <br />Wildlife Information <br />To evaluate potential wildlife habitat impacts from the proposed operation, information was <br />gathered during site investigations and from the Natural Diversity Information Source (NDIS). <br />The NDIS combines plant and animal abundance data from the Colorado Division of Wildlife <br />(DOW) and other Colorado natural resource agencies to be used for land-use analyses and <br />decision making. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) maintains a list of <br />federally threatened and endangered species for Larimer and Weld County. This list was <br />reviewed and species that appear on this list that are potentially applicable to the project include <br />the following: <br />Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) <br />Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) <br />Black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) <br />Black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) <br />Preble's meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei) <br />Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) <br />Whooping crane (Grus Americana) <br />Southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) <br />Least tern (Sterna antillarum) <br />Yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) <br />The project site appears to have been disturbed by past agricultural practices and there appears to <br />be little or no native vegetation on the proposed mine site. There are riparian areas and mature <br />cottonwood trees along the river, but the limits of mining will not disturb the area directly <br />adjacent to the river. Based on a discussion with the Natural Resource Conservation Service <br />(MRCS) the natural vegetation on the site has been decimated by prairie dogs and other <br />circumstances. The site is mostly overgrown with weeds and saltgrass. Prairie dogs and prairie <br />dog holes were observed on site. <br />The DOW NDIS data provides lists of wildlife known to be common or abundant in Larimer and <br />Weld County, and which might occur within or near the proposed project site. These lists <br />include a variety of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The following list is an example <br />of some representative species that occur on the list for Larimer and Weld County and could be <br />expected to be present on or in proximity to the project site: <br />bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) <br />plains spadefoot (Spea bombifrons) <br />tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) <br />plains garter snake (Thamnophis radix) <br />American robin (Turdus migratorius) <br />bank swallow (Riparia riparia) <br />black-billed magpie (Pica pica) <br />common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) <br />SerFer Project <br />DRMS 112 Permit <br />Page 14 <br />