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Exhibit H — Moores Mining LLC 112 Permit Application July 13, 2009 Page 4 of 6 Bald eagles prefer coastal areas, rivers, or lakeshores with tall diurnal perches. In Colorado, bald eagles are rare summer breeders and common winter residents primarily in mountain parks and western river valleys. During the night, wintering bald eagles roost in tall trees, or occasionally, cliffs,' up to 20 miles from foraging areas." Bald eagles may select night roosts that offer protection from winter winds and where thermoclines provide warmer temperatures than foraging areas. In daytime, eagles make foraging flights from night roosts, alighting on the ground to capture prey or feed on carrion and frequently resting in tall trees or, less commonly, on manmade structures. Fidelity to night roosts is low.' Because ample foraging grounds are available to bald eagles in the vicinity of the Site, with higher quality foraging approximately 8 miles west of the Site, and because the Site itself does not feature productive foraging grounds for bald eagles, the proposed project is not likely to have measurable effects on bald eagle. A documented peregrine falcon nesting area is mapped by CDOW approximately three miles east of the Site (Exhibit C, Figure C -5). An additional potential nesting area is mapped within two miles southwest of the Site (Exhibit C, Figure C -5). Peregrine falcons nest on ledges of high (greater than 200 feet) cliffs, typically near water and good hunting grounds. Recent breeding bird surveys in western Colorado found at least 50 percent of all nesting peregrines observed to be associated with pinyon - juniper woodlands, because the woodlands occur at the same elevation as the best cliff sites.' Peregrines are typically not present in the area during winter months. The peregrine's primary prey are passerine bird species, such as rock dove, or waterfowl, which they take on the wing. With an active nest area two miles from the Site, peregrine falcons are likely to hunt for prey in the vicinity of the property. The distance of the active and potential nest areas for peregrines from the Site protects them from any disturbance activities at the Site. Foraging peregrines can travel relatively large distances to hunt, and the Site represents only a small fraction of the hunting grounds available to a single pair of breeding peregrines, and their fledged young, in the vicinity. For these reasons, the proposed project is not likely to have measurable effects on the peregrine falcon. The yellow - billed cuckoo, a candidate for the federal Endangered Species List, potentially finds suitable breeding habitat near the site in the West Creek corridor. Probably never common in western Colorado, this bird is now considered an extremely rare summer resident and nearly extirpated in western Colorado.', The species does not winter in the state. Reasons for decline of the yellow - billed cuckoo throughout the western U.S. have been attributed to destruction of its preferred riparian habitat due to agricultural conversions, flood control projects, and urbanization .12 In some parts of its breeding range, pesticide use may have affected the yellow - billed cuckoo's prey base — injurious pest insects such as tent caterpillars, which tend to occur in cyclic outbreaks. Only one confirmed nesting occurrence was recorded in western Colorado (the Yampa River near Hayden) during Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas surveys from 1987 through 1994. The Colorado Natural Heritage Program' lists one record of yellow - billed cuckoo in western Colorado in La Plata County. Since the 1990, only one to two unofficial yellow - billed 9 Andrews, R. and R. Righter. 1992. Colorado Birds. Denver: Denver Museum of Natural History. 442 pp. 10 Buehler, D. A. 2000. Bald Eagle (Haiiaeetus ieucocephalus). In The Birds of North America, No. 506 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and the American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. 11 Moynahan, Brendan (BLM Grand Junction Field Office Wildlife Biologist). 2006. Personal communication with Dawn Reeder (Rare Earth Science, LLC), March 8. 12 Hughes, J. M. 1999. Yellow- billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus). In The Birds of North America, No. 418 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and the American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. 13 Ryser, F. A., Jr. 1985. Birds of the Great Basin: a natural history. Reno: University of Nevada Press. 604 pp. RARE EARYh SCIENCE