Ann: Proposed critical habitat for Tiehm's buckwheat, page-14

From the announcement my understanding is that 'Pollinators' are insects, birds, bees etc.

The critical area is to allow them a habitat so they in turn can help the preservation of the Tiehm's Buckwheat.

This is achievable.

Their habitat (critical area) can be outside of the project area. It can also still be accessed and mined with approval from BLM.

One option is;

Looking at the maps, the critical area can quite easily be of the western side of the stage 1 quarry and be directly next to the Tiehm's Buckwheat.

This large area is not planned for mining and was designated for overburden storage area - Phase 2 (OSF2) years 4.5 onwards

With the success they have already had with the propagation plan it's very possible that the plant will be saved well before they even need to use this area.

Worst case, they store overburden elsewhere.

As stated by management, Ioneer and Tiehm's Buckwheat can co-exist.

See image below, successful propagation of Tiehm's buckwheat.