Cortez and Phoenix Mines Eagle Permit NEPA Documents

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received two applications from Nevada Gold Mines LLC requesting eagle take coverage under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act over a 30-year period. The applications requested authorization for incidental disturbance take of eagles in the vicinity of the Cortez Mine and Phoenix Mine for ongoing mining activities within each mine’s Plan of Operations. Both mines are ongoing operations, with historical mining going back to the 1800s, and with current levels of mining expected to continue for at least the next 30 years. The Cortez Mine is located in Lander County, Nevada, approximately 60 miles southeast of Battle Mountain, while the Phoenix Mine is located in Lander County, Nevada, approximately 12 miles southwest of Battle Mountain. The surface mining operations and associated activities of these two mines may disturb territory-holding golden eagle pairs in the vicinity of operations, which may prevent them from breeding or producing offspring.

We prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, to assess impacts of the proposed action of issuance of the requested eagle take permit to the applicant, as well as alternatives to the proposed action. The proposed action of issuing a permit required implementation of measures to avoid and minimize adverse effects to eagles to the maximum extent practicable and compensatory mitigation to fully offset eagle take. Details of the minimization measures and compensatory mitigation can be found in the EA document provided here.  The analysis detailed in the EA resulted in selection of the proposed action and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The FONSI and final EA documents are provided here.