2011-01-13_REVISION - C1981038 (8)

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XII. XIII. Post-mining Land Use - Rule 4.16 The discussion of land use may be found in Volume 1 on pages 1 to 10 of Section 2.04.3, and pages 80 to 83 of Section 2.05.5. A land use appendix is located in Volume 9 along with Map No. 9-1, Land Use Information Map. The Division hereby approves the post-mining land uses of the operation. It was determined that grazing for both livestock and wildlife for the Bowie No. 1 West Mine and the bench areas at the Bowie No. 1 Mine, and cropland use for the storage silos, truck dump, train loadout areas, and the railroad spur meets the requirements of Rule 4.16 and 2.07.6(2)(1). Protection of Fish, Wildlife and Related Environmental Values - Rule 4.18 The fish and wildlife resources sections of the application can be found on pages 56 to 87, Section 2.04 of Volume 1, and in the Wildlife Appendix, Volume 9A. The Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Plan can be found on pages 87 to 94, Section 2.05 of Volume 1. The general area contains important winter range for both elk and deer, and over 10,000 hunter days per year are spent in this area. Golden eagles have been noted near the mine site, but no threatened or endangered wildlife species have been observed. The North Fork of the Gunnison River contains twelve (12) species of fish, including three (3) species of game fish (rainbow trout, brown trout, and northern pike). However, due to the poor production of benthic organisms and poor habitat conditions, the North Fork is not stocked frequently. Impacts to wildlife are minimized by prohibiting public use of trails when big game are concentrated in the winter (December 1 to April 16), and by prohibiting the cutting of snags except those within the actual disturbed area required for construction, thereby minimizing the loss of perches and nesting trees for raptors, insectivorous birds, and cavity nesters. Power lines and other transmission facilities are designed and constructed to protect raptors and other large birds from electrocution. Construction activities (heavy equipment, helicopters, blasting etc.) are prohibited within one-quarter mile of the golden eagle nest during the nesting period (March 1 to July 1). The construction of the west portal facilities disturbed a short stretch of East Roatcap Creek. Carefully designed sediment control measures were used to protect the stream channel. The operator has agreed to compensate for any impacts to riparian areas by improving adjacent areas. In contacting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) three endangered fish species were noted as potentially being impacted indirectly by the operation: Federally-listed Species Colorado squawfish Humpback chup Bonytail chub Ptychocheilus lucius Gila cypha Gila elegans While the proposed activity is not directly located in areas currently occupied by any of the above fishes, the USFWS believes that any depletion of water from the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) may have negative impacts on these endangered fishes. Simply put, water that leaves the UCRB before reaching habitat areas for listed fishes may actually cause cumulative deterioration of downstream, occupied habitat. In this way depletions are thought to contribute to the fishes' decline. 37