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and can be expected to continue occurring on this site as it does on other areas such as inclusions of <br /> croplands. The sage-grass site does not provide hiding or thermal cover to big game. Sage grouse <br /> populations in the area are very low and no known active leks for sage or sharp-tail grouse exist on or <br /> near the mine plan area. <br /> 2) Range sites A and B, mountain shrub types, will be returned to spring-summer-fall mule deer habitat <br /> and elk winter habitat with consideration for spring and fall livestock grazing and year-round watershed <br /> management. <br /> Shrubs will be reestablished on range sites A and B in clumps approximately 1.6 acres in size. Since <br /> critical deer winter range does not exist at Trapper Mine, the purpose of reestablished shrubs will be <br /> to provide hiding and thermal cover to promote spring, summer, and fall use. These same shrub <br /> clumps will provide thermal cover and forage to wintering elk. Shrub clump survival data is given in <br /> Table 4.4-13. Mature shrub clumps will be considered successfully established upon verification that <br /> at least 50% of all transplanted shrub pads within the shrub clumps to be evaluated in a bond release <br /> block contain at least 10 live woody stems. Shrub pads are defined as a single front-end-loader <br /> bucket load of native shrub stems that are transplanted into a shrub clump situated in a reclaimed <br /> area. A shrub pad is removed by a front-end-loader bucket below ground level such that native soil <br /> and root mass are included with the pad. <br /> 3) The distance between shrub clumps (across open forage areas)will not generally exceed 1,400 feet. <br /> State regulations require that a permittee demonstrate shrub seedlings are viable and showing growth. <br /> This will be demonstrated from density measurements. Shrubs that do not show evidence of life will not <br /> be counted. No actual measurements of stem height or woody plant cover are necessary. Individuals that <br /> are alive at the time of evaluating reclamation success, i.e.. in the 10th year of liability will have <br /> demonstrated vigor and production potential by virtue of the time elapsed. Further, palatable species such <br /> as bitterbrush or mountain mahogany will probably be kept cropped back by grazing ungulates, precluding <br /> meaningful measurements of height and cover. <br /> The goals of shrub re-establishment are to provide adequate wildlife cover and suitable forage, while <br /> simultaneously maximizing the value of the land for livestock use. Section 4.6.2.1 provides a discussion <br /> of shrub cover and forage as required by deer and elk. Appendix O includes a paper"Re-establishment of <br /> Shrubs at the Trapper Mine" that provides a detailed discussion and justification for the shrub re- <br /> establishment goals at Trapper Mine. <br /> The shrub re-establishment standard for Trapper Mine on range sites A and B will be a minimum of 400 <br /> live stems per acre. Part of this standard will be accomplished through the establishment of mature shrub <br /> clumps as described earlier. As the clumps are approximately 1,400 feet apart, the clumps will have an <br /> area of influence of nearly 46 acres. A minimum of 250 mature shrub pads are transplanted in <br /> 4-116 Revision: mPL-13� <br /> Approved: 7L Ci <br />