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treatments discussed earlier should help draw the animals away from the revege- <br /> tated areas. In addition, the seeding of shrubs between clumps or strips of <br /> mature shrubs may be delayed until an area of at least 200 contiguous ,acres are . <br /> ready for seeding. This will dilute the impact of wildlife use and promote the <br /> survival potential of shrubs. Plummer et al . (1968) reported that if 500 or <br /> more acres were reseeded at a time on big game range in Utah that the use was <br /> sufficiently diluted to allow plants to establish. For the Trapper Mine, it <br /> would take too long for 500 contiguous acres to become available. Moreover, socae <br /> protection will be afforded seedlings during critical use periods by the snow <br /> that generally accumulates on the north facing slope on which Trapper Mine is <br /> located. Therefore, the 200 acre criteria in combination with improvements to <br /> draw animals away from newly revegetated areas is considered a reasonable site <br /> specific compromise. <br /> If however, depredation of newly revegetated areas becomes too severe, deer and <br /> elk restrictive fencing or repellents will be considered to protect the critical <br /> revegetated areas. Before implementation of these measures, plans and informa- <br /> tion will be provided to the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Division for consul- <br /> tation. <br /> �( Watering Sites <br /> As mining progresses, stockwater ponds currently established within the mining <br /> area will be destroyed. These ponds coupled with a few springs and seeps are <br /> important watering areas for deer and elk during the summer and fall months. <br /> Reestablishment of stockwater ponds is discussed in Section 4.2.2 of the applica- <br /> tion while reestablishment of springs and seeps is discussed in Section 4.8.. <br /> Sediment control ponds, which are in existence during the mining operation, pro- <br /> vide new and useful interim watering sites for animals during mining. <br /> 4.6.2.2 Game Birds <br /> Sage Grouse <br /> The sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) population within the mine plan is <br /> relatively small with no strutting grounds located within the mine plan area <br /> (Section 2.4) . Sage grouse will suffer some loss of habitat due to mining and <br /> 4-1 SS <br />