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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I OJ212S 2.0 METHODS The wildlife habitat study consisted of an overview survey of habitat conditions at the Williams Fork Project, including the area within the FERC project boundary and in the surrounding area, Special emphasis was placed on identification of any particularly sensitive or important habitat types and habitat uses. 2.1 Wildlife Habitat Characterization To assess the extent and condition of wildlife habitat at the Williams Fork Project, the entire area within the FERC project boundary was evaluated by means of a pedestrian survey to characterize wildlife habitat. All of the area within the FERC project boundary can be considered habitat for some form of wildlife (i.e., small birds, waterfowl, small mammals, large mammals, etc} Habitats that are common at the Williams Fork Project and may also be regionally widespread can, nevertheless, offer important wildlife values. Habitats with limited distribution at the Williams Fork Project and possibly elsewhere may be important because they offer unique wildlife values, Either common or unique habitat may be sensitive, although they are probably vulnerable to different sources of impacts, The wildlife habitat characterization effort for this survey assessed the area within the FERC project boundary with respect to the various types of wildlife habitat present, focusing on sensitive or important habitat types for consideration in future land management and project operations planning. 2.2 Species Use Available information on wildlife species occurrence within the FERC project boundary and in the surrounding area was obtained from the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW). CDOW is currently engaged in three research studies related to wildlife in the vicinity of Williams Fork Reservoir. The subjects of the three studies are as follows, . CDOW conducts annual counts of wintering bald eagles and golden eagles along the Colorado River. Counts of both adults and juveniles of both species are performed in January of each year. Data provided here represent eagle counts for reaches of the Colorado River near the Williams Fork Reservoir for the years 1997 through 2003, as well for the Williams Fork River below the reservoir for 1998 and 1999. . CDOW is in the process of gathering information on sage grouse use of areas surrounding the Williams Fork Reservoir. The main focus of the study at this point is to identify the location of sage grouse leks (communal display grounds), Because CDOW does not release detailed information on the location of sage grouse population distributions and sage grouse leks to the public, only general Williams rork Reservoir HydroelectriC Project January 2004 Steigers Corporation Wildlife Habitat Survey Report Page 2