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joint land use of Rangeland/Fish and Wildlife Habitat post - mining. Present and potential <br />production of this land use is based on the prominent soil type, Duffymont -Nortez soil complex <br />that supports the sagebrush. Another soil complex found at the expansion area is the <br />Thornburgh- Lithic Haplocryolls, which hosts the mountain shrub community. <br />This proposal for the Collom expansion area would also reduce the overall area of the Morgan <br />Creek Ranch (MCR) Wildlife Area by approximately 7,642 acres to 22,623 acres. The MCR <br />elevation varies from 6,400 to 8,200 feet, with precipitation ranging from 13" to 20" annually. <br />MCR supports a wide range of plant communities including primarily sage grasslands, mountain <br />shrub and aspen with riparian bottoms along several major drainages. The historical land use of <br />the ranch has been sheep and cattle grazing. Today the livestock grazing is limited to mid -May <br />through mid- October due to climatic conditions and a relatively short growing season; rotational <br />grazing has been implemented using well - maintained boundary and cross fences, along with <br />water developments. The ranches long term planning for grazing management and habitat <br />improvement continues with consideration of weather conditions and resource management. <br />Habitat management objectives are met using a wide range of improvements including grazing <br />management, prescribed burning, water development, and riparian restoration. <br />The present condition of the permit area is described as good to fair for rangeland conditions. A <br />trend toward improvement has taken place over much of the area due to reduced livestock <br />grazing since the land was obtained by Colowyo. Grazing has not been allowed within the initial <br />Colowyo permit area since fences were constructed in 1977 and will not be allowed in the <br />expansion permit area until final bond release is achieved. <br />Species - Specific Information <br />OSM used the list of potential federally - endangered, threatened, candidate species and species of <br />concern that may be found in Colorado's Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties, which U.S. Fish & <br />Wildlife Service provided within the February 22, 2011, response letter to Colowyo Coal <br />Company. <br />This action has the potential to impact the following ESA - listed and candidate species: <br />Humpback chub (Gila cypha), Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), Bonytail chub, <br />(Gila elegans), Razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis <br />lucida), Greater sage- grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), Yellow - billed cuckoo (Coccyzus <br />americanus), Black- footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), North <br />American wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus), Ute ladies'- tresses orchid (Spiranthes diluvialis), <br />Dudley bluffs bladderpod (Physaria congesta), Dudley bluffs twinpod (Physaria obcordata), and <br />the White River beardtongue (Penstemon scariosus var. albifluvis) and their critical habitat. <br />Humpback chub <br />The humpback chub (Gila cypha), is a streamlined minnow with a concave skull and a prominent <br />nuchal hump at the occiput, the back end of head marked by a line separating scaleless and <br />scaled portions of epidermis with a caudal peduncle thin but not long snout that overhangs upper <br />Page 5 <br />