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will not seriously impact wildlife habitat or use in the Seneca II-W permit area. The pattern~of . disturbance anil' the potehtial maximum total reclaimed acreage in the mine .area (less than . t ;20/1 0~ not great in relation ~tb the amount of undisturbed habitat remaining in. the ~--- ~ .. permit area .and surrounding areas (please refer. to the following exhibits:. Exhibit 10-1, , •. Premining Vegetatipn, and Exhibits 22-1 and'~22-1 A, Postmining Vegetation Mapl. The addition of grazing lands, (i:e., reclaimed areas) in the Seneca .Il-W area can reduce livestock ,' pressure on native vegetation in the undisturbed adjacent areas, .providing .additional habitat• resources to wildlife. The reclaimed plant communities, dominated by herbaceous species, will greatly enhance the foragediversity of. the area habitat for wildlife by providing succulent forages.Succulent fbrages are. high in digestible- protein and •digestible: energy and may remain palatable and nutritious even •afjer they have completed their growing.cycle~ICook et al., 19771. ~ Also,, animal performance is related to the amount of digestible energy 'and digestible protein in forages. This is especially true for livestock and big game nearing the end .of the gestation cycle. (springl, and during lactation (spring through early falll. 'The' succulent .herbaceous forage in the reclaimed plant.-communities will~provide~nutrien[ levels to meet these increased needs for both livestock and liig~ game. .'The large numbers of deer and elk present on reclaimed areas at the Seneca II Mine appear'to demonstrate the utility of,a herbaceous forage • resource to big game. ~, ~It has been determined that early greening spring grasses contribute significantly to mule deer diets in the f3ocky Mountain and Intermountain regions IWillms and McLean, 19781. Yoakum and ~fJasmann. j 1 971) also reported that pregnant does benefit directly from the availability pf green forages during the criticalearly spring period.- If the winter has been severe, the need for•.succulent and nutritious spring forage is~even mdre critical. Big game select out those ' forages highest. in nutritive quality ~ when available and also those that :are greening and succulent IMereszczak~et al., 1981 and Armstrong, 19751.. Various studies show mule deer and elk piefer. succulent forages other than woody species during various, times of the year. Miller et al: 119811 found that big game selected up [0 52 percent grasses in their diets during the period of March through Jurie. Forbs.'accounted~for 38 percent:~-The big game in this study also tended~to congregate in areas where palatable forages occurred. .The study .site was in forested areas with brush understory and clear cut areas seeded with palatable forages. While these opened areas covered only 31;percent of the area, 66 percent of the big game diet came from them. They 8 •Revised 1/99 • •