2018-03-20_PERMIT FILE - C1981019A (2)

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RULE 2 PERIMITS kept down to a height of only a few inches. The one -acre plot that was cleared of vegetation and fenced in 1977 for testing by the Meeker Environmental Plant Center can be used as a good comparison of the differences between browsed and unbrowsed areas that have had similar treatments. Several of the unbrowsed shrubs that have grown up from root sprouting in the Plant Center plot have attained heights of up to four feet in just a few years. Over a five -year period, we feel the cumulative effects of improving 50 -75 acres per year for deer and elk use has been increasingly successful in meeting the objectives of increasing available forage and drawing wildlife away from reclaimed areas. This wildlife mitigation program is considered a success and was discontinued at permit renewal as reclaimed areas are now attracting a large population of local wildlife populations. Also, suitable areas within the permit for this mitigation had been increasingly difficult to find. Much of the habitat suitable for improvement had already received treatment. SageQrouse Mitigation In a preliminary findings document dated December 11, 1981, the Division requested additional information on sagegrouse use of the Colowyo permit area and a description of habitat mitigation measures. Colowyo submitted the following response, dated May 25, 1982, which satisfied the remaining concerns of the Division. SageQrouse Mitigation I. Ongoing Mitigation Offsetting Current Loss of Sagegrouse Habitat Due to Mining. Prior to 1976 due to the prior landowners' grazing practices, the rangeland both within the permit area and surrounding areas was in an overgrazed condition. After 1976 the following changes in the management of the land, then owned by Colowyo, took place which indirectly increased the sagegrouse nesting and brood rearing capacity of the overall area. This increased carrying capacity of the sagegrouse habitat provides the mitigation for any displaced sagegrouse population during mining. 1. From 1976 until 1979 all livestock grazing was stopped in order to allow the range to rest and to return to a more productive state. The immediate benefit to sagegrouse was the increased production of herbaceous vegetation which, along with insects, is an important component to the sagegrouse brood population diet. A secondary benefit was the end of any nest trampling and end of disturbance and heavy grazing around watering areas due to livestock grazing. 2. During 1976 a fence was constructed around the Federal coal lease which eliminated all further livestock grazing in this area. Since 1976 to the present, sagegrouse have continued to benefit as described as #1 above. 3. All other areas outside of the lease fence (approximately 6,000 acres) have been grazed Rule 2 Permits 2.05 -44 Revision Date: 10/23/12 Revision No.: RN -06