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CHAPTER FOUR IMPACTS ON TERRESTRIAL WILDLIFE AND HABITAT IMPACTS FROM PROPOSED MANAGEMENT ACTIONS Impacts from Wildlife Habitat Management. Land treatment projects in GMU's 54, 55, and 551 would increase forage on elk and deer crucial winter range by improving species diversity, cover, structure, and production to belp meet CDOW long.range herd goals. Carrying capacities on crucial big g~e winter range in the remaining GMU's would remam stable regarding the achieving of CDOW long.range herd goals. Modifying existing fences in antelope ranges would make additional forage and habitat accessible to pronghorn antelope. Construction of enclosures and gabions would enhance sage grouse broodrearing habitat. Impacts from Locatable Minerals ~anagement. Withdrawing 45,282 acres of federal mmeral . estate from mineral entry would reduce the potenltal for habitat loss of all wildlife species on effected federal surface from mineral development. Road construction, surface disturbance, and increased human activity that accompanies locatable mineral development would eliminate habitat, alter use patterns, increase stress and disrupt nesting and breeding seasons of a wide variety of game and non- game species. The impact of mining activities would be greatest where bighorn sheep habitat, crucial elk and deer winter range and sage grouse lek areas exist on lands with a high likelihood for the occurrence of locatable minerals. Impacts from Soil and Water Resources Management. Increasing ground cover or plant basal cover in the sagebrush vegetation type would improve hiding and nesting cover for sage grouse and other non-game species. The continued implementation and maintenance of the "Long Gulch" project would result in increased forage and hiding cover for sage grouse and non-game wildlife. Impacts from Riparian Zones Management. Projects designed to stabilize streambanks and increase vegetation cover would improve sage grouse brood habitat. Impacts from Livestock Grazing Manageme~t. Restricting livestock use to proper utilization levels m riparian areas would improve sage grouse broodrearing habitat, crucial big game winter r~ge and non-game species habitat. Physical trampling would be reduced, as would the invasion of undesirable plant species. Land treatment projects which result in decreasing sagebrush cover below 25% would preclude these areas from being used as sage grouse nesting areas, and would decrease sage grouse wintering habitat. Domestic sheep grazing on bighorn sheep ranges would result in the possibility of disease transfer between the two sheep species and would decrease forage availability for bighorn sheep due to dietary overlap. Impacts from Forest Management. Removal of snags in harvest stands would eliminate habitat for raptors and other oon-game species. Timber harvests within 1/4 mile of goshawk nests would disturb nesting pairs. Harvest of ponderosa pine and Douglas fIr on a sustained yield basis would decrease elk and deer thermal and hiding cover by 100-150 acres per year. Impacts from Recreation Management. Development of campsites and the associated increase in use along Cochetopa Creek would eliminate bighorn sheep use within 1/2 miles of developed areas and would deter raptor use. Limiting OHV use from December 1 through M~y 31 to designated routes in crucial elk and deer WlDter range north of U.S. Highway. 50 would pr~v.ent disturbance to these animals durmg the most crlltca1 portion of the year. Impacts from Transportation and Access. Acquiring public road access into the Rock Cree~ Par~ area would disrupt bighorn sheep and lambmg bighorn sheep and would force the herd onto marginal habitat. 4-6