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WrLDLIFE RESOURCES ASSESSMENT <br />MORTON LAKES PROPERTY <br />WELD COUNTY, COLORADO <br />• <br /> pyrrhonota), Swainson's hawks (Buteo swainsoni), and red-tailed hawks (Buteo <br /> jamaicensis). One potential raptor nest was observed in 2006 within large cottonwoods <br /> along the eastern edge of the property boundary and Big Dry Creek, and is most likely a <br /> red-tailed hawk nest. Because the 2008 site visit was conducted in September when trees <br /> were leafed out and birds were not nesting, it is unknown if additional nests are located <br /> within the project area or if the nest observed in 2006 is active during the breeding <br /> season. If it is necessary to remove the trees with the nest, it must be done outside of the <br /> breeding season to avoid potential MBTA violations. Red-tailed and Swainson's hawks <br /> breed in Colorado from mid-February through August. If construction activities occur <br /> during the breeding season, reasonable precautions should be taken to ensure that raptors <br /> and other birds are not using the nests. If raptors are observed nesting within the project <br /> area, CROW has recommended buffer zones of 1/3 mile for red-tailed hawk nests and 1/4 <br /> mile for Swainson's hawk nests (2008). Activities that would directly impact an active <br /> nest or that would encroach close enough to cause adult birds to abandon a nest during <br /> the breeding season (i.e., within the recommended buffer zones) should be restricted. <br /> <br /> Wildlife Corridors <br /> The project area contains no sensitive wildlife migration corridors identified by the <br /> CROW (NDIS 2008). The wetland and riparian habitat along Big Dry Creek provides <br /> important travel corridors for many species found along the Front Range including mule <br /> and white-tailed deer, waterfowl, raptors, small mammals, and other prairie species. <br /> Buffers between mining stages and Big Dry Creek would be retained so that wildlife can <br /> continue to use the area for foraging and as a movement corridor. <br />Proposed Activities to Avoid and Reduce Wildlife Impacts <br />Migratory Birds <br />implement migratory bird guidelines that include: <br />• Initiating project activity to avoid disturbing migratory bird habitat during the <br />breeding season, defined as between April I and August 31. <br />• Conducting pre-disturbance surveys to identify active migratory bird nests in <br />habitat that cannot be avoided during the breeding season. <br />• <br />FRO <br />17 Resources <br />(orporotion