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<br />-25- <br />~ Not only will there be a direct loss of wildlife habitat resulting <br />from conversion of public lands to agricultural uses, but there will <br />also be more stock grazing on the remaining private and possibly <br />~ public lands adjacent to the project. This, too, will reduce the <br />amount of natural forage available for big game and increase the <br />incidence of depredations on haystacks. <br />Pronghorn antelope will be severely affected by the Savery-Pot Hook <br />Project because of the conversion of several thousand acres of <br />~ critical winter range to cropland. Antelope in this area move <br />altitudinally in response to seasonal changes, summering at higher <br />elevation and wintering at lower levels. Since the lowest point in <br />~ the project area is the Little Snake River, the closer to the river <br />the winter habitat is, the more important it becomes. Studies <br />indicate that the most important antelope range in severe winters <br />~ is the sagebrush biome below the 6,500-foot contour. In addition, <br />observations show the Little Snake River itself is an important <br />source of winter water. <br /> <br />The upper ends of both the Pot Hook and Dolan Mesa canal systems <br />will nearly coincide with the 6,500-foot contour and will provide <br />~ irrigation water to lower, undeveloped lands, making possible-- <br />and probably inevitable-conversion to agricultural uses of most <br />of the sagebrush habitat below this contour. However, antelope <br /> <br />