2009-12-16_REVISION - M1980178

• Permit No: M1980178
• IBM Index Class Name: REVISION
• Doc Date: 12/16/2009
• Doc Name: Conversion application
• From: Moores Mining, LLC
• To: DRMS
• Type & Sequence: CN1
• Email Name: THM
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

RARE EARTIi SCIENCE
www.rareearthscience.com
July 13, 2009
Leon Moores
Moores Mining LLC
32906 Colorado State Highway 141
Gateway, CO 81522
Re: Wildlife Information (Exhibit H - Application for DRMS 112 Permit)
Moores Pit, Mesa County, Colorado
Dear Leon:
Moores Mining LLC is applying to convert its current Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety
(DRMS) 110C Permit (Permit M1980 -178 for a Limited Impact Operation) to a 112 Permit
(Reclamation Permit Operation). The subject operation is the Moores Pit (hereafter, "Site ") in
Mesa County, Colorado. The Site is located approximately 8.5 miles northwest of the Town of
Gateway, in Unaweep Canyon on the north side of State Highway 141. The original permit was
issued on September 15, 1980.
A criterion for the 112 Permit application process under Rule 6.4.8 of the Mineral Rules and
Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for the Extraction of Construction
Materials (promulgated October 1995, as amended) requires the applicant to provide, as Exhibit
H to the application, a description of game and non -game resources on and in the vicinity of the
project area, including (a) significant wildlife resources on the affected land; (b) seasonal use of
the area; (c) the presence and estimated population of threatened or endangered species from
federal and state lists; and (d) a description of the general effect during and after the proposed
operation on the existing wildlife of the area. This letter serves as Exhibit H to the application,
and references other exhibits in the application, as appropriate.
Physical and Ecological Setting
The Site consists of two adjoining parcels of land situated between the North Fork and Fish
Creek drainages on a south - sloping bench above West Creek (Exhibit B of the application), a
tributary of the Dolores River in the greater Colorado River watershed. Highway 141 bounds the
Site on the south, and West Creek lies south of Highway 141, flowing roughly parallel to the
highway. No permanent streams or other water bodies occur on the Site itself. The site ranges
in elevation from approximately 6,250 feet at its north boundary, to approximately 6,120 at its
south boundary along Highway 141. The majority of the approximately 14 -acre east parcel of
the Site has been mined for aggregate, while the approximately 23 -acre west parcel of the Site
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