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WILDLIFE RESOURCES ASSESSMENT <br />MORTON LAKES PROPERTY <br />WELD COUNTY, COLORADO <br />• Wetlands occur along Big Dry Creek and Lupton Bottoms Ditch, and riparian areas occur <br />along Big Dry Creek. <br />The majority of the project area is used for crops or was previously cultivated. The <br />two easternmost fields were not cultivated in 2008 (Photos 1, 2, 7, 11, and 12). The <br />vegetation within these fields includes alfalfa (Medicago sativa), bindweed (Convolvulus <br />arvensis), smooth brome (Bromopsis inermis), and prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola). <br />The fallow agricultural field west of Big Dry Creek, within the center area of the project <br />area, is currently being grazed (Photos 7, 11, and 12). At the time of the 2008 site visit, <br />the western field was cultivated with soy beans (Photo 10). <br />Big Dry Creek is located in the southeast corner of the project area (Photos 3, 4, and <br />8). Vegetation along the creek consists of sandbar willow (Salix exigua) and reed <br />canarygrass (Phalaroides arundinacea). Mature plains cottonwood (Populus deltoids), <br />Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila), and crack willow (Salix fragilis) are scattered throughout <br />the Big Dry Creek corridor within the project area. The riparian area southeast of Big <br />• Dry Creek consists of poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), snowberry (Symphoricarpos <br />albus), wild rose (Rosa sp.), patches of sandbar willow, poison ivy (Toxicodendron <br />rydbergii), horsetail (Equisetum sp.), and wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota). <br />Methods <br />The approach to the project was to gather existing information and conduct a <br />reconnaissance field survey. Data was gathered from the Colorado Natural Diversity <br />Information Source (NDIS 2006), the Service's Preble's meadow jumping mouse <br />(Preble's) database (2005), agency and consultant reports, and other sources. The field <br />reconnaissance concentrated on identification of the presence of habitat necessary to <br />support sensitive wildlife species, including threatened and endangered species, game <br />species, or other species and habitats protected by state or federal regulations. Wildlife <br />issues evaluated in this assessment included: <br />• Federal- and state-listed threatened, endangered, and sensitive species <br />• Large mammals, including game species and other species protected by state or <br />local regulations <br />IRO <br />• 4 R <br />esources <br />Corporation