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terrain of the proposed permit area, and the flatter rangeland and <br />agricultural fields north of Yoast. This area is south of the block <br />of critical habitat mapped by CDDW. During the 27 January survey, <br />numerous other groups of elk were seen in similar terrain and habitat <br />northwest of the survey area and east of Sage Creek Road; and on steep <br />ridges east of the survey area and Twenty-mile Road. <br />Elk sightings recorded during the course of other fieldwork are <br />listed in Table 3. Elk were regularly observed in substantial numbers <br />in the Yoast vicinity from winter through earl y. May. Most sightings <br />were on the north and east parts of the proposed permit area. After <br />early May, elk were very rarely observed on or near Yoast. Elk that <br />winter in the Yoast vicinity likely moved south into the Williams Fork <br />Mountains to calve and summer. <br />Elk are known to rely heavily on browse in their winter diet in <br />northwest Colorado (Boyd 1970). Important browse species such as <br />Gambel oak and serviceberry grow in abundance in the Yoast area, where <br />mountain brush is the predominant habitat. <br />Mule Deer <br />The entire proposed Yoast Mine permit area and haul road corridor <br />are classified as summer mule deer (Ddocoileus hemionus) habitat. The <br />nearest winter range mapped by CDGW is northeast of the permit area, <br />east of Twenty-mile Road, and south of the Yampa River. Another area <br />mapped as mule deer winter range lies southwest of the proposed permit <br />area, west of Dunkley Park. <br />As with elk, the pattern of mule deer sightings through the <br />baseline study year confirms CDGW range classifications. Mule deer <br />• <br />• <br />• <br />16 <br />