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III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ~ ~~ 999 STATE OF COLORADO Bill Oweos, Governor DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION OF WILDLIFE AN EQUAL OPPORIIIM"IY 8MPL0\'8R John W. Mumma, Director 6060 Broadway Deuver, Colorado 80216 Telephoue:(303)297-1192 7l 1 [udependent Avenue Crand Junction, CO 81505 970-255-6100 ,ECEIVED APR 16 1999 Giv~:; . .,Minerals 8 Geology Colorado Division of Minerals & Geology Attn.: Mr. Thomas Gillis 1313 Sherman St., Room 215 Denver, Colorado 80203 Dear Mr. Gillis, G~~~o Op®q~ `~' OF `Tt' For ~Idlife- For People April 12, 1999 The Colorado Division of Wildlife has reviewed Reclamation Permit Application M-99-025 concerning the proposed Soaring Eagle gravel pit in Mesa County. We have commented to Mesa County and to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on that issue. The following comments address the reclamation plan, the wetlands issue, and the resultant pond that will be connected to the Colorado River as per the negotiated agreement between the USFWS and the developer. it appears that mining of the site may result in the disturbance of up [0 10 acres of wetlands. The developer has proposed a phased wetlands mitigation plan in which temporary wetland benches are created simultaneously with wetland disturbance. He proposes a wetland mitigation target ratio of 1.5:1 for the project. The proposal reduces the temporal losses of wetlands during the development phase and will result in a net gain in wetland acreage following reclamation. We support that plan. Our goal is to have fully functional wetlands following the completion of this project. We encourage you to recommend the use of native plant species in the re-created wetlands along with the active suppression of undesirable invaders such as tamazix and Russian olive in peripheral areas. If the wetland sites have not been successfully reestablished within 3 yeazs, the proponent should be required to take corrective action until such time as the newly created wetlands are functional. We also encourage you to recommend permanent fencing of all wetland areas following establishment to protect these sensitive areas from grazing impacts. Gravel extraction at the site will result in the creation of a large pond following project completion. Impoundments in the floodplain can have severe negative impacts on native threatened and endangered fishes by encouraging the proliferation of non-native competitors. After consultation with the USFWS, the developer agreed to create a "Texas crossing" inlet with 5 outlet channels to link the pond with the River during high flow events. We defer to the technical expertise of the USFWS on this issue. We foresee future problems with siltation blocking the flow of water through the system and recommend that an access be granted in perpetuity by the petitioner to the Corps of Engineers or the USFWS to maintain the integrity of that system. Again, we recommend the use of native species, DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, Greg Watcher, Executive Direnor Wn_DL~E COMMISSION, Chuck Lewis. Chaiman • Mark LeValley, Vice Chairman -Bernard Black. Secretary Rick Enstrom, Member • Philip lames. Member • Marianna Raftopoulos, Member • Arnold Salazar, Member • Roben Shoemaker. Member