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<br /> <br />, <br /> <br />area. A few persons hunt ducks and it is estimated that about 40 ducks <br /> <br /> <br />are shot in 50 hunter-days. <br /> <br /> <br />Game Species with the Project <br /> <br /> <br />Effects of reservoir on habitat <br /> <br /> <br />55. The Rio Grande Division of the San Luis Valley projeot will <br /> <br /> <br />result in a major loss to the big-game resource and a minor benefit <br /> <br /> <br />to waterfowl resouroes. Water in Wagon Wheel Gap Reservoir will be <br /> <br /> <br />at elevation 8,661, "effective" pool level, often enough during the <br /> <br /> <br />growing season to make vegetative growth below this level questionable. <br /> <br /> <br />It is expected that the wildlife habitat, with the exoeption of that <br /> <br /> <br />for waterfowl, will be lost wi thin this pool. In addition, the value <br /> <br /> <br />of the 6&l acres remaining between the effeotive pool and the land <br /> <br /> <br />acquisi tion line, eleVB. tion 8.683 feet. will be reduoed in quality <br /> <br /> <br />for wildlife habitat by the clearing of almost 300 aores of brush and <br /> <br /> <br />timber. <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />Big game <br /> <br />HaM tat and Abundance <br />56. The 5.200 acres of elk and deer habitat will be reduced <br />to 870 acres. The big-game winter range below the effeoti ve pool <br />level of Wagon Wheel Gap Reservoir will be destroyed and most of <br />the remaining habitat will be of poorer quality than that in the <br />bottoms. This big-game range provides forage for elk and deer <br />during severe winters. The Rio Grande Division developllent will <br />result in the loss of big game ocoasionally dependent upon the winter <br />forage of the reservoir site. It is also believed that, due to more <br />intensive use of the forage adjacent to the reservoir site that could <br /> <br />32 <br /> <br />1156 <br /> <br />