|
United States Department of the Interior
<br />IN REPLY REFER.
<br />ES/CO:OSM
<br />TAILS 65413-2007-F-0054
<br />FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
<br />Ecological Services
<br />764 Horizon Drive, Building B
<br />Grand Junction, Colorado 81506-3946
<br />April 13, 2007
<br />Memorandum
<br />i
<br />4
<br />To: Natural Resource Specialist, Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and
<br />Enforcement, Denver, Colorado
<br />From: Western Colorado Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, Grand
<br />Junction, Colorado j
<br />Subject: Comments on the Biological Assessm nt for Bowie Resources LTD "Bowie No. 2"
<br />Mine, Permit C-96-083, Technical Revision 45
<br />This is in response to your letter dated November 20, 2006, regarding Technical Revision 45 for
<br />the Bowie Resources LTD "Bowie No. 2" Mine, Permit C-96-083. The Bowie No. 2 Mine is an
<br />underground coal operation in Delta County, Colorado, approximately 5 miles northeast of the
<br />town of Paonia, on private property and lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
<br />The proposed action is construction of a new 600,000 to 700,000 ton permanent coal refuse
<br />disposal site, topsoil stockpile, soil cover stockpile, and drainage controls on a 45-acre site,
<br />which is currently under cultivation in irrigated hay and orchard crops. An existing pond (Pond
<br />J) will be deepened to capture the runoff from the site; since the surface area of Pond J is to be
<br />reduced from 0.63 to 0.28 acres, the estimated evaporative loss will decrease by 0.227 acre-feet.
<br />The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provides these comments under the authority of,
<br />and in accordance with, the provisions of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
<br />amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the Interagency Cooperation Regulations (50 CFR 402).
<br />Your letter includes effects determinations for the bald eagle, Canada lynx, black-footed ferret,
<br />Uinta basin hookless cactus, clay-loving wild buckwheat, and the yellow-billed cuckoo. Your
<br />analysis found that no suitable habitat exists in the project area for the Canada lynx, black-footed
<br />ferret, Uinta basin hookless cactus, clay-loving wild buckwheat, or yellow-billed cuckoo. Given
<br />this information, you arrived at "no effect" findings for these species. Because the Office of
<br />Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) determined that the proposed action
<br />would not affect the Canada lynx, black-footed ferret, Uinta basin hookless cactus, clay-loving
<br />wild buckwheat, or the yellow-billed cuckoo, consultation and concurrence are not necessary on
<br />these species.
<br />Regarding the Colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub, razorback sucker, and bonytail, the
<br />Service's view is that any water depletions from the Upper Colorado River Basin are considered
<br />-rf1_,_- I/
<br />RECEIVED
<br />APR 2 3 2007
<br />?F '' Divis-:--r; o Reclamation,
<br />?a? iviining and Safety
|