Biological Resources

Numerous plant and wildlife species inhabit the I-70 Mountain Corridor, and the corridor’s ecology is both complex and interdependent. The corridor, which spans from C-470 to Glenwood Springs, is 144 miles long and passes through numerous “life zones” -- from alpine to foothills. As alternatives to improve the I-70 Mountain Corridor are considered, they must take into account ways to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to a wide range of biological resources. These biological resources are discussed in detail in the I-70 Mountain Corridor Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement – Biological Resources Section.

The Evaluation Guidance details how I-70 Mountain Corridor alternatives will be evaluated. The Alternative Evaluation Guidance documents how healthy environment criteria will be used to determine how well an alternative is able to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to biological resources. Criteria are provided for use at each level of alternative analysis.

During the I-70 Mountain Corridor Context Sensitive Solution Workshops, the stakeholders developed a list of critical issues to be considered during all future work on the corridor.