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STATE OF COLORADO Bill Ritter, Jr., Governor DEPARTMENT OF.NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION OF WILDLIFE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Thomas E. Remington, Director 6060 Broadway Denver, Colorado 80216 Telephone: (303) 297-1192 wildlife. state. co. us August 28, 2009 Kathy Welt Environmental Engineer III Mountain Coal Company, LLC West Elk Mine: P.O. Box 591 Somerset, CO 81434 r. AUG 3 7 2009 Division U7 Mining a d Sa eation, ty ?O y4y OF For Wildlife- For People Re: MB-5E Pond and Bridge Project Dear Ms. Welt, Thank you for soliciting the Division of Wildlife's analysis of the above referenced project. During our analysis we have identified several items that may be of concern as they pertain to the wildlife resources of the area. 1. Our major concern is the possibility of the pond failing due to high water in the North Fork of the Gunnison River and introducing the pond contents into the river. We request more information as to what is in the runoff water that is stored in the ponds as well as the dimensions of the berms on the river side. We recommend that some type of flood analyses be performed. The new pond appears to be quite an expansion and it moves the pond much closer to the bank of the North Fork. Large flow events from Coal Creek could threaten to wash out the pond and possibly impact fisheries in the North Fork. The river near Somerset supports a healthy wild rainbow trout population as well as an excellent population of native bluehead suckers and smaller populations of flannelmouth suckers and mottled sculpin. The last time the North Fork River was sampled, in 2004 below Paonia Dam, the wild trout biomass was 74 lbs. per acre rainbows and 9 lbs. per acre brown trout. This is over our Gold Medal standard of 60 Ibs per acre. The concern is a failure of the pond's berm could create significant sedimentation and contaminant entry to the-North-Fork and impact the fishery downstream. 2. Are Yellow-Billed Cuckoos or Northern Leopard Frogs found in the area of the pond? These two species are of concern at this time and if they are found on site then the DOW may need to review our response. If these two species are not present then there is no further concern for them on this site. 3. We recommend an aggressive weed management plan be developed and implemented to control invasive weeds on the berm of the pond and along the newly established roads and other construction sites. This is particularly important when the development is this close to the river which provides a ready source of dispersal for invasive weed seeds. With these concerns in mind we recommend that the possibility of moving the new pond farther away from the riverbank be considered. DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, Hams D. Sherman, Executive Director WILDLIFE COMMISSION, Brad Coors, Chair • Tim Glenn, Vice Chair • Dennis Buechler, Secretary 'Members,Jeffrey Crawford • Dorothea Farris • `Roy McAnally • John Singletary • Marie Smith • Robert Streeter Ex Officio Members, Harris Sherman and John Stulp