2012-09-07_PERMIT FILE - M2012018 (2)

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moss rock gathering with no grazing or logging or other land uses occurring. The northern project site boundary is delineated by a fence made of four -foot tall six -by -six inch hog wire with a single strand of barbed wire approximately six inches above the hog wire (Photo 3). There is a gap of approximately six inches under the fence which allows for smaller wildlife to go under the fence. Adult deer can easily jump the fence (as two mule deer bucks were observed doing), but the fence may impact the movement of wildlife that are too big to go under the fence but too small to jump the fence (e.g. mule deer fawns). 3.0 Methods Sensitive species potentially present at the project site were identified based on habitat types present and the elevation range, known range, life history traits, and ecology of species. This wildlife information was taken from USFWS listing packages, a review of the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) data base to identify historical element occurrences of sensitive species (including state and federal listed species) or habitats near the project site, the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas (Kingery 1998), Amphibians and Reptiles in Colorado (Hammerson 1999), and Mammals of Colorado (Fitzgerald et al. 1994). The Colorado Natural Diversity Information Source (NDIS) was reviewed to identify mapped critical wildlife habitats within and near the project area; these maps are updated annually by the CPW as better information on species occurrences increases. An analysis area of V4 mile beyond the project site boundary was selected since research (has shown that impacts to wildlife extend at least to that distance. The width of areas of indirect impact, or "effective habitat loss," due to relative avoidance of otherwise suitable habitats depends on several variables. These include the type of habitat adjacent to the human activity (availability of topographic or vegetation screening), the extent and quality of habitat into which displaced animals might move, the intensity and duration of the disturbance, the seasonality of the disturbance, and the innate sensitivity of the particular wildlife species. The scientific literature contains a number of references to the width of indirect habitat zones along roads and other areas of disturbance. For deer, Knight et al. (2000) found that use by mule deer was reduced within 0.125 miles (200 meters) of a road (i.e., the road -effect zone is 0.125 mile). Lyon (1979) found that the reduction in habitat use was apparently due to differences in the amount of vegetation screening. As can be seen from the data presented above, the most commonly cited width of reduced use by deer in relation to roads is in the range of 0.125 to 2.3 miles. Note that this is "reduced use" or "relative avoidance" and not "total avoidance." In reality, the impact zone is likely to differ among the amount of disturbance (i.e. moss rock gathering versus quarrying), the severity of the winter season, and the timing, duration, and spatial relationship of areas subject to mining activities. A pedestrian survey of the project site was conducted between the hours of 1300 and 1421 on August 28, 2012. Prior to conducting the survey the site was mapped in ArcMap Geographical Information System (GIS) 2