Laserfiche WebLink
III IIIIIIIIIIIII IIIJLORADO • • <br />Roy Romer, Governor ~~o,j1"oM'~t <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES RE~EIV~p ~ (,- <br />DIVISION OF WILDLIFE MAY ~~ ~, <br />AN EQUAL OPPORiUNITV EMPLOYER ~ o0 <br />John W. Mumma, Director <br />Denverr Colorado 60216 dlVl,~fl ~l Mlfl~fa16 (Y d1616~~. lesrv~i R Iv,r <br />Telephone: (303) 297-1192 ^ r ~ •• <br />OF MANAGING <br />TOUR WILDLIFE <br />To: Kent Gorham ,J ~.~(/(~7N' March 17,1997 <br />~~ <br />From: John Woodling <br />Re: Lorencito Canyo coal mine project <br />At the request of Jim Melby I reviewed portions of the Lorencito Coal Mining <br />Application pertaining to water quality and the effects of water quality on the aquatic biota of <br />both the Purgatory River and the tributaries draining the effected lands of the mine. There are <br />five issues relating to aquatic resources: <br />1. Presence of flathead chub in [he Purgatoire River and Lorencito Canyon <br />Z. Presence of brown trout in both the Purgatory River <br />3. Detection limits used by the mining company in analyzing water samples <br />4. Decreased water quality in Lorencito Creek and the Purgatory River <br />5. Increased sedimentation in Lorencito Creek and the Purgatory River. <br />1.Flathead chub The presence of the flathead chub may be both an opportunity and a <br />liability. The flathead chub has rapidly disappeared from much of its range in the last two <br />decades. Monitoring programs in Wyoming and Nebraska have demonstrated that the species is <br />now very rare in these two states. A DOW fish monitoring program performed since 1993 <br />demonstrated this species is relatively widespread in the Arkansas River basin but not extremely <br />abundant compared to other species. The species is a candidate for listing as a federal threatened <br />or endangered species. It is fairly probable that if the US FWS is petitioned by someone to list <br />the species the service would find the need for some level of designation. <br />Classification of the flathead chub as a federally listed species is not an outcome the <br />DOW desires. If the species is listed, there is a possibility Colorado could be granted some <br />exemption from the restoration actions implemented in other portions of the species range. The <br />exemption would only be possible if the State can demonstrate that the numbers and distribution <br />of the species are not decreasing in the state. In that light the DOW must request that the <br />Lorencito Mine project undertake a series of actions that results in the preservation of the species <br />in Lorencito Creek and in the Purgatory River . <br />2. Brown trout The Purgatory River brown trout are protected by a set of stream standards <br />adopted by the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission. The Purgatory River at the <br />proposed mine site is in Segment Sa, Lower Arkansas River (Region 7, Page 9 Classifications <br />and Standards for Arkansas River Basin, 3.2.0). The stream at that location is an aquatic life class <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, James S. Lochhead, Executive Director <br />WILDLIFE COMMISSION, Arnold Salazar, Chair ~ Rebecca L. Frank, Vice Chair ~ Mark LeValley, Secretary <br />Lours F Swift, Member ~ Jesse Langston Boyd, Jr., Member <br />Chuck Lewis, Member • John Stulp, Member ~ James R. Long, Member <br />