2011-12-22_PERMIT FILE - X201123500 (2)

Home Browse Search

Vegetation and Wildlife Baseline Survey Report Linc Energy Little Snake River Project • Estimates the extent of historic sagebrush habitat lost in Colorado. • Assesses the current status of sagebrush habitat in Colorado and quantifies widespread threats to its continued existence. • Identifies declining or potentially - declining sagebrush- dependent wildlife species not addressed by other regional conservation planning efforts. • Establishes conservation goals, objectives, and strategies to avert further decline of species of concern, and outlines monitoring steps to assess conservation accomplishments. Species addressed in this plan include black- throated sparrow, Brewer's sparrow, green - tailed towhee, lark sparrow, northern harrier, sage sparrow, sage thrasher, vesper sparrow, kit fox, Merriam's shrew and sagebrush vole. The most significant at -risk animal species in Moffat County's sagebrush ecosystem is the greater sage - grouse which is addressed separately in the T &E section of this report. The black throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata deserticola) breeds in a variety of desert, semi - desert, and chaparral shrublands across its range. In western Colorado, black - throated sparrows favor open arid country with scattered shrubs such as Utah juniper, sagebrush, spiny hopsage, blackbrush, or greasewood. The black - throated sparrow is at the northeast edge of its breeding range in Colorado. Breeding black- throated sparrows have been detected in nine western Colorado counties, and confirmed in four with populations centered around the Rangely, Grand Junction, Gateway, Naturita, and Cortez areas. There are no known sightings in the project area. Brewer's sparrows (Spizella brenveri) are common on mesas and foothills throughout western Colorado, and locally common at lower montane elevations in suitable habitat. Brewer's sparrows are often the most abundant bird on sagebrush shrubland breeding grounds. Preservation, restoration, and beneficial management of sagebrush habitat in the Little Snake River project area may improve breeding conditions for Brewer's sparrows. The green tailed towhee (Pipilo chlorurus) breeds on the Columbia Plateau, in the Great Basin, the Wyoming Basins, central and southern California, and the Colorado Plateau. Across its breeding range, centers of abundance are northeastern Utah, the central Sierra Nevada, montane southern California, and northwestern Colorado. The green - tailed towhee as ranked as the twelfth most numerous species in Colorado, with over half the state's population in the shrublands of the state's northwest corner. Loss and degradation of sagebrush habitat are primary concerns for this sage dependent species. Kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) are declining in the Great Basin, and relatively rare and of unknown population status on the Columbia Plateau. Based on historic records, anecdotal reports, known occurrences in adjacent counties in Utah, and the availability of suitable habitat, kit fox are expected in eight western Colorado counties. Centers of abundance are presumed to be southeast of Delta and east of Montrose in the Uncompahgre Valley. No published records of kit fox exist for Moffat County. Suspected sightings in Moffat County are now thought to be those of swift fox or red fox. Note that the genetic separation of kit fox and swift fox is still in question, but Habitat Management, Inc. Page 8 December 2011