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J.E. Stover & Associates, Inc
<br />April 24, 2012
<br />Page 6
<br />Canada lynx
<br />The lynx was listed as a threatened species in 2000 at Federal Register 65(58):16051- 16086.
<br />Although it was never abundant in Colorado, the lynx has historically occurred in appropriate habitat
<br />in upper montane and subalpine zones throughout the central part of the state.' Re- introductions of
<br />lynx in the state have met with some success, with CPW reporting about 47 percent survivorship
<br />and moderate to high reproductivity (23 possible mating pairs) of the 204 animals released since
<br />1999. No designated critical habitat for lynx exists in Colorado, but USFS and other federal
<br />agencies have identified lynx habitat statewide based on vegetation data, including denning, winter
<br />foraging, and other lynx habitat. Agencies have also designated Lynx Analysis Units (LAUs) which
<br />generally correspond to watersheds, cover an area large enough to sustain an entire lynx home
<br />range, and are used for landscape -level planning and impact analysis . No lynx LAUs are mapped
<br />within the Bowie No. 2 Permit Area.
<br />Primary lynx habitat in Colorado includes coniferous forests of spruce and fir or lodgepole pine.
<br />Secondary habitat consists of aspen or Douglas -fir mixed with primary coniferous habitat, between
<br />8,000 and 11,500 feet elevation . 2 ' Lynx typically forage in uneven -aged forests with shrubs or small
<br />trees that provide habitat for snowshoe hares, their primary prey. Small forest openings with low
<br />cover enhance foraging habitat, although lynx mostly avoid openings larger than several acres.
<br />Closed canopy forests with significant dead and down trees provide optimum denning habitat. In
<br />areas with deep winter snow, foraging habitat must contain shrubs or small trees of sufficient height
<br />to extend above snowpack.
<br />Within the Bowie No. 2 Permit Area, preferred denning and foraging habitats are lacking. Mature or
<br />old growth stands of lodgepole pine and spruce -fir (preferred denning habitats) and early -seral
<br />stage stands (foraging habitats) are not supported within the area. The nearest substantial block of
<br />suitable habitat for lynx lies approximately 0.5 miles north of the mine boundary. Potential
<br />secondary habitat lies in the Iron Point Gulch and Hubbard Creek drainages (in the far north part of
<br />the Mine Permit Boundary in Sections 27 and 34), but not within a mapped LAU or within areas of
<br />permitted surface disturbance. No standardized buffer zones between suitable lynx habitat and
<br />activities such as those allowed under the mine permit have been established.
<br />Due to lack of preferred denning and foraging habitat, use of the mine permit area by lynx is
<br />expected to be limited to occasional transitory individuals. The routine renewal of the Bowie No. 2
<br />mine permit would not result in any losses of preferred habitat or in the fragmentation of blocks of
<br />suitable habitat for lynx. The effects of the mine's activities on lynx have been analyzed in other
<br />documents and are consistent with this finding. Most recently, a 2011 Programmatic BA prepared
<br />by WestWater Engineers 16 determined that the effects from analyzed activities "may affect, but are
<br />not likely to adversely affect" lynx, and that activities proposed under the 2011 Programmatic BA
<br />may result in "temporary disturbance and displacement of lynx," but the such disturbance or
<br />displacement is "not expected to be meaningfully measured, detected, or evaluated."
<br />18 Seidel, J., Andree, B., Berlinger, S., Buell, K., Byrne, G., Gill, B., Kenvin, D., Reed, D. 1998. Draft strategy for the conservation and
<br />reestablishment of lynx and wolverine in the southern rocky mountains. Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver, Colorado.
<br />19 Shenk, T. 2006 (Colorado Division of Wildlife Biologist). 2006. Lynx update, March 12. Available at
<br />http: / /wildlife. state. co.us /NR /rdonlyres /432BB4E3 -271 F- 4A10- 904F- E6288B9CF1 E1 /0 /LynxUpdate Marl 22006.pdf.
<br />20 Ruediger, Bill, Jim Claar, Steve Gniadek, Bryon Holt, Lyle Lewis, Steve Mighton, Bob Naney, Gary Patton, Tony Rinaldi, Joel Trick,
<br />Anne Vandehey, Fred Wahl, Nancy Warren, Dick Wenger, and Al Williamson. 2000. Canada lynx conservation assessment and strategy.
<br />2nd Ed. USDA Forest Service, USDI Fish & Wildlife Service, USDI Bureau of Land Management, and USDI National Park Service.
<br />Missoula Montana.
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