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Species County ESA Status Critical Habitat M n ix an Spot ted Owl Mexican Spotted Owl Garfield Threatened Designated, None in Mesa County None in Garfield Fish Bonytail Chub Gila elegans Garfield Mesa Endangered Designated, Mesa County Humpback Chub Gila cypha Garfield Mesa Endangered Designated, Mesa County Colorado Pikeminnow Ptychocheilus Iucius Garfield Mesa Endangered Design, Mesa Coa Garfield County Razorback Sucker Xyrauchen texanus Garfield Mesa Endangered Designated, Mesa County Garfield County Greenback Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarki stomias Garfield Threatened None Designated Plants - Colorado Hookless Cactus Sclerocactus glaucus Garfield Mesa Threatened None Designated Ute Ladies'- tresses Orchid Spiranthes diluvialis Garfield Threatened None Designated DeBeque Phacelia Phacelia submutica Garfield Mesa Threatened Proposed Mesa County Garfield County Parachute Beardtongue Penstomon debilis Garfield Threatened Proposed Garfield County Sources: FWS, 2010a and FWS, 2011a and 2011b McClane Canyon Mine Expansion and Fruita Loadout Facility 4.1 Action Area 15 Biological Assessment The Action Area includes all areas that would be affected directly or indirectly by the Proposed Action and not just the immediate area involved in the action. The Action Area for this Project is divided between the Mine and the Loadout Facility. At the Mine, the Action Area extends to 100 meters from the perimeter of all proposed surface disturbances associated with the Mine expansion. The FWS and BLM (2007) believe that indirect project effects to Colorado hookless cactus may occur up to 100 meters (328 feet) away but project activities farther than 100 meters from Colorado hookless cactus plants are expected to have no effect (FWS and BLM, 2007). The Action Area also includes East Salt Creek from the Mine downstream to the confluence with Mack Wash and Salt Creek, which is a direct tributary to the Colorado River. Although the 100 -year floodplain has not been mapped for the Colorado River downstream from the 18 -mile reach (from the Gunnison River to Loma), it is likely that Salt Creek provides constituent habitat elements for use by endangered Colorado River fishes (see discussion below) and, because it is connected with East Salt Creek, its inclusion in the Action Area is appropriate. The Action Area at the Loadout Facility is based on the analysis of project effects to the four Colorado River endangered fish species and effects to designated critical habitat for Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. The Action Area would include the 100 -year floodplain associated with Reed Wash and the Reed Wash channel from the upstream limit 1,395 river feet north of U.S. Highway 6 /State Highway 50 downstream to the confluence with the Colorado River mainstem, 1,510 river feet from the Loadout Facility property boundary. These two components are within the larger Action Area related to water depletions. That area encompasses the Upper Colorado River Basin and listed species' critical habitats in the Colorado River from Reed Wash downstream to Lake Powell, Utah.