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Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties, Colorado". The Wolf Creek management area is closest to the <br />• Deserado Mine, located northeast of Coal Ridge, a minimum of over three miles from the mine <br />permit area. Management agencies encourage BME to conduct operations in a manner that <br />reduces the risk of adversely affecting the ferrets. Regulatory authorities may impose protective <br />measures (e.g., minimum necessary timing limitations and/or facility relocations) only when site- <br />specific monitoring indicates that a 'knowing' or 'negligent' take (as defined by the Endangered <br />Species Act) of a ferret inhabiting the mine area is imminent. Given the limited extent and density of <br />prairie dogs in the mine permit area, it is unlikely that the Mine's activities will impact individual <br />ferrets or the recovery program. <br />Poor habitat limits prairie dog populations near the coal conveyor, mine portal, and washing facility. <br />Populations in the disposal and alternate sites and along portions of the haul road are in more <br />favorable habitat and are sufficiently dense, up to 290 individuals per hectare, to sustain predators <br />on a sustained basis. However, the extents of these populations are fairly limited making them <br />essentially unsuitable for long term BFF establishment. <br />Concern for prairie dog populations is legitimate. Habitat destruction was minimized by proper <br />reclamation procedures. Active dumping of waste is kept to a minimum practicable acreage and will <br />be followed by revegetation to return the area to use by animal species. <br />Townsend's big-eared bat (Plecotus townsendii pallescens) was recently documented near the <br />is Staley Gordon Mine (Heather Sauls, BLM, personal communication 2009). It is suspected that a <br />nursery colony of this species has established itself within the abandoned mine. While not <br />Federally listed under the Endangered Species Act, this species is listed as a 'Species of Concern' <br />with the BLM and of 'Special Concern' with Colorado. Bat doors were installed at the entries to this <br />pre-law mine as a joint project between DRMS, BLM, and BME in 2003. <br />Although the riparian habitat is the most significant for prime avian species because it supports the <br />greatest diversity, it is least likely to be disturbed due to the water withdrawal method and there is <br />very little of it within the proposed area of impact. Additionally, there are no prime avian species <br />sufficiently dependent upon it that they will be harmed. Table II.C-15 of Section II.C gives a <br />breakdown of water intake from White River and use by various categories. <br />IV.M.3 Habitat Affinities The habitat affinities of four prime avian species are of concern: <br />ferruginous hawks, golden eagles, sage grouse and burrowing owls. Ferruginous hawks nest in low <br />juniper trees and on the ground in pinyon-juniper and low growing sagebrush-desert shrub sites <br />within the potential impact area. There are indications that this species has been declining in <br />numbers over much of its range. Some have attributed this decline to the hawks' intolerance of <br />human activity in and around nesting areas. Though the mining and disposal operations are not <br />0 Permit Renewal #5 (5/2009) IV-4 5