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WILDLIFE RESOURCES ASSESSMENT <br />MORTON LAKES PROPERTY <br />WELD COUNTY, COLORADO <br />• conduct surveys or coordinate with the Service prior to conducting activities in that area. <br />Additionally, the 2008 site visit was conducted to identify the location and size of any <br />prairie dog towns within and near the proposed project area, and to evaluate the <br />capability of any existing prairie dog towns to support black-footed ferrets. Federal <br />guidelines establish a minimum of 80 acres of black-tailed prairie dog towns that the <br />Service believes is needed to support the black-footed ferret (50 CFR 402). No prairie <br />dog colony is currently located within the proposed project area. No action is necessary <br />regarding the black-footed ferret. <br />Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse <br />Species Background <br />Preble's was listed as a threatened species on May 13, 1998 under the ESA (see <br />Federal Register Vol. 63, No 232:66777-66784 12/3/98). After reviewing recent studies <br />and the best scientific and commercial data available, the Service concluded on July 10, <br />2008 that (1) the Preble's meadow jumping mouse is a valid subspecies and should not be <br />delisted based upon taxonomic revision; (2) the subspecies is not threatened throughout <br />all of its range; and (3) the portion of the current range of the subspecies located in <br />Colorado represents a significant portion of the current range where Preble's is likely to <br />become endangered within the foreseeable future, and the subspecies remains threatened <br />in Colorado. <br />Under existing regulations, either a habitat assessment or a full presence/absence <br />survey for Preble's is required for any habitat-disturbing activity within areas determined <br />to be potential Preble's habitat (generally stream and riparian habitats along the Colorado <br />Front Range). Typically, Preble's occurs below 7,600 feet in elevation, generally in <br />lowlands with medium to high moisture along permanent or intermittent streams and <br />canals (Meaney et al. 1997). Preble's occurs in low undergrowth consisting of grasses <br />and forbs, in open wet meadows, riparian corridors near forests, or where tall shrubs and <br />low trees provide adequate cover (Service 1999; Meaney et al. 1997). Preble's typically <br />inhabits areas characterized by well-developed plains riparian vegetation with relatively <br />undisturbed grassland and a water source nearby. <br />. <br />FRO <br />7 Resources <br />(orporotion