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C.J In CD .,..f BUREAU OF lAND MANAGEMENT (b) Wildlife The general area involved is big game winter range. None of this critical range will be lost as a result of the project, ex- cept that caused by the actual construction of the Crookton Canal and maintenance road, for which no mitigation is considered nec- essary. Big game considerations consist primarily of (1) main- tenance of hunter access along and across the Crookton Canal (see discussion in Lands), and (2) allowances in the design of the ca- nal to permit easy crossing by big game. A 1964 Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife Report on this project stated: ".. .atten- tion should be given to the design of canals and canal works. They should be located and built so that they will not interfere with nor be hazardous to deer and elk in their movement to and from winter ranges. If properly constructed, losses from injury or drowning in canals can be minimized." Their recommendation was: "Canal works should be designed to minimize potential ad- verse effects on big game." We endorse these statements, which speak for themselves, and which are of special importance in the particular area under study. If the above considerations are accommodated, the project's effect on wildlife would be minimal, as no other impact on the wildlife resource has been identified or is anticipated. (c) Recreation The proposed project (except as concerns access already dis- cussed in Lands) presents little known impact on the recreation resources. Visitor and hunter use south of the canal would probably increase as a result of improved access along the canal and across BLM lands south of the canal. Any such increased use would probably find its way into the National Forest, however. There are no identified recreation facilities or potential los's, and no enhancement potential identified on BLM lands as a result of the canal. The impact on the aesthetics and landscape of the canal and road would probably not be highly adverse, being lo- cated in an area which already abounds with ditches and canals. However, this consideration should be kept in mind when plans for the proposed location are submitted and on-the-ground studies made. (d) Minerals There are some locatable mineral prospects and past production sites in the general area, but none in the immediate area of the canal and proposed withdrawals. A 1969 minerals report covering portions of sec. 29, T. 48 N., R. 4 E., N.M.P.M., considered those lands involved as non-mineral in character. A recent Ge- ological Survey report indicated that these lands are "without 62