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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 <br /> or 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 water- <br /> shed management. <br /> If the shrub clump option is selected, shrubs will be reestablished on range sites A and B in clumps <br /> approximately 1.6 acres in size. Since critical deer winter range does not exist at Trapper Mine, the <br /> purpose of reestablished shrubs will be to provide hiding and thermal cover to promote spring, <br /> summer, and fall use. These same shrub clumps will provide thermal cover and forage to wintering <br /> elk. Shrub clump survival data is given in Table 4.4-13. Mature shrub clumps will be considered <br /> successfully established upon verification that at least 50% of all transplanted shrub pads within <br /> shrub clumps each contain at least 10 live woody stems. Shrub pads are defined as a single front- <br /> end-loader bucket load of native shrub stems that are transplanted into a shrub clump situated in a <br /> reclaimed area. A shrub pad is removed by a front-end-loader bucket below ground level such that <br /> native soil and root mass are included with the pad. <br /> 3) If the shrub clump option is selected, the distance between shrub clumps (across open forage areas) <br /> 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 <br /> that 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 <br /> such as bitterbrush or mountain mahogany will probably be kept cropped back by grazing ungulates, <br /> precluding 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 <br /> of 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 if the shrub clump option is chosen. When the shrub clump option is in operation, <br /> the clumps are approximately 1,400 feet apart and have an area of influence of nearly 46 acres. A <br /> minimum of 250 mature shrub pads are transplanted in each 1.6 acre shrub clump which will provide <br /> hiding and <br /> 4-116 <br />