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. ". ; . . 28 severely reduce winter cover. likely to reduce the pheasant hunting. Project-caused pheasant habitat losses are population below that which would support Mule deer now using the 3,311 acres of riparian tree/shrub and 381 acres of rush/cattail habitats would no longer have this cover available once the project is operational. Deer numbers would be reduced and some hunting opportunity lost; however. if nonmigratory deer are causing damage to crops. it may be relieved. Deer damage caused by migratory populations will not be affected. Mourning dove, cottontail rabbit and quail habitat loss will reduce their numbers by some unknown amount. The loss of 4,846 acres of pasture/hay wetlands and 632 acres of sedge/grass wetlands will reduce nesting. brooding, and feeding habitats for long-billed curlew. The reason for the long-billed curlew population decline is habitat loss. This project will contribute to that problem. Project-caused loss of 4.846 acres of pasture/hay, 632 acres of grass/sedge, and 152 acres of rush/cattail wetlands will contribute to the loss of nesting, brooding, and feeding habitats of northern harrier and white-faced ibis. These two birds are migratory non-game birds of management concern in the United States because of population declines caused by habitat loss. Northern harriers are common residents of project wetlands while white-faced ibis are present. but not common. The loss of the project area wetlands will decimate those populations in the project area. Possibly the most important value of the 6.696 acres of wetland habitats lost is their role in supporting raptors and carnivorous mammals' prey base. Most conspicuous species are rough-legged hawks during the winter; American kestrel and northern harriers in the summer; and red-tailed hawks year round. Less conspicuous species include 'ong-eared. and great horned owls. Mammals include skunks and long-tailed weasels. The project caused loss of wildlife habitat will reduce wildlife-related recreation expenditures in Carbon and Emery Counties to some undetermined 1 evel . DISCUSSION/MITIGATION/ENHANCEMENT Creating new in-kind wetlands in most of the project area to replace the wetlands destroyed by project implementation would be counter-productive to project purposes. The salt loading eliminated by reducing deep percolation from existing wetlands would be shifted to the newly created mitigation wetlands where deep percolation would again leach out salts from the soils. Therefore, in the spirit of cooperation with the effort to reduce salt from Colorado River water, out-of-kind mitigation is recommended. The Service has worked with the Division in preparing an out-of kind CuC 8 8 mitigation proposal to compensate for the wetland habitats lost by