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<br />_r ~ . ~"
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<br />Mon., March II
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<br />Is shale end of line for state
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<br />8" JAni OV_t::-o; .JR,
<br />Ne....St..U
<br />.. Ev~n with th.. ,'rict~.t control., oil ,J,.I..
<br />d_~/opment i. /lO,,,, to Ju..... . m.jor imp.rlcl
<br />On ...ildlif.. in rhft .r"., Withoul ,'riel con.
<br />trol. it could bit. di....t..r:'
<br />Ron K..t-.
<br />Wildlif~ Con.~rv.,ion DfliCft.
<br />C,!orttdo DiviJionol Wi!dlil..
<br />Once a year agents of the Colorado
<br />Didsion of \\'ildliIe take an earlv eve-
<br />ning drive on Winding Piceanee 'CrPek
<br />Road in northwestern CalOl'ado's Rio
<br />Blanco Counh.. Their car slows (}('.
<br />casianally as' they peer out over the
<br />land<>cape, It is dusk. They are count-
<br />ing deer,
<br />About 15 miles north\\est of Rifh' theoasjmall
<br />aME'ry slices W('5twaro into the middle of the
<br />Piceance Basin. [hen northwant to Colorado 6.1
<br />betwt'f:'n lI,fl'(>kt'r and Rangel)', In this sparsely
<br />rq1ulated and barely vegNatl'd land, the Pice-
<br />
<br />Second of a Series
<br />
<br />ance Crt-'ek Road is the (ltIly largl" man madE>
<br />obstacle in the I'ath of I>I"h,-,;'ell 30,000 and 60,.
<br />000 migrator)' mule dl"l'r \\ho enter lhe basin
<br />each....inter In search of f'.l<ld.
<br />In CktobEor tht'y move _ as a single hf'rd _
<br />down from tht' hi.llh cOuntry that rims the cen_
<br />tral basin, In April and Ma)' the), migrll(e back
<br />up.
<br />The deer arE' a natural 'NOI1der; they com_
<br />prlS(,> the largest migrator)' herd in r.-orth
<br />America, pOs."ibly the world, Last April while
<br />dri\'inK ~ their ('ady f'\'enmg dft'r censu~,
<br />wildlife agE'nts counted more- than 4,000 in a -18-
<br />mile stretch,
<br />TWO JU:,\SO:'ll'S f'OR CO:\'CF:RS
<br />Such numbers belie th(' hrnt's condition.
<br />howe\-er, Wildlife ofririals are I'o'orrif'd abOut
<br />itsfuture--fortwon'lIsons.
<br />First, df'ep SlJ(m'!l and llJ1 unusually long
<br />winter last year reduced the Pico>anl'e Basin's
<br />winter range b~' 30 to -to per c","t Onl~' ahout
<br />500 square- miles of tall bushes and short trees
<br />are-a\'ailllblethis winter to sllstain Iheanimals
<br />until 5pring, Thllt's down 100 to :?OO square
<br />miles from t'1.'''O )'('a... ago
<br />ThE' amount of winler rang(' directl)' ron-
<br />tro]s thf' herd's silt'. If the furag(' is doY.n 10
<br />per cf'nt, perhaps JO or .J.O Ill'r cenl of th(> dt>er
<br />might diE' of starvation if not harvested thru~h
<br />game management plans. t In such II prl'dica_
<br />ment, all of the df'E'r "'Quid run OUI of food 10
<br />per cent t<nn"..., ,hI'" normaL I
<br />
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<br />'J974,Oenver, Colo.
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<br />Rocky Mountain News-$
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<br />wildlife?
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<br />The federal government says oil shale de-
<br />velopmenT in Colorado's Picednce Basin will
<br />mean a minimum 10 per cent reduction in
<br />
<br />COLOIlADO OIVISION OF WILDLIFE PHOTO
<br />
<br />North America's largest migratory Illule deer
<br />herd. Colorado wildlife officials .ore study.
<br />ing the situation, They aren't so optimisTic.
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