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• The shrubs tended to shear or break off easily when the ground was <br />frozen leaving the root systems undisturbed. During the following <br />spring, vigorous new growth from root sprouting occurred, and easy <br />access was provided for deer and elk. This technique has had the <br />additional effect of allowing grasses and forbs to establish stands <br />that will compete with the shrub, thus suppressing growth to a <br />height useable by wildlife. Approximately 30 acres of overmature <br />decadent shrubs, i.e., serviceberry, oak, and chokecherry was <br />"brushed" on an annual basis through 1986. <br />Although no specific data has been collected on these areas, <br />general observations have shown that the areas are heavily utilized <br />by both deer and elk. On all of the areas, any new shrub sprouting <br />is kept down to a height of only a few inches. The one acre plot <br />that was cleared of vegetation and fenced in 1977 for testing by <br />the Meeker Environmental Plant Center can be used as a good <br />comparison of the differences between browsed and unbrowsed areas <br />that have had similar treatments. Several of the unbrowsed shrubs <br />that have grown up from root sprouting in the Plant Center plot <br />have attained heights of up to four feet in just a few years. Over <br />a five year period, we feel the cumulative effects of improving <br />• 50-75 acres per year for deer and elk use has been increasingly <br />successful in meeting the objectives of increasing available forage <br />and drawing wildlife away from reclaimed areas. <br />This wildlife mitigation program is considered a success and was <br />discontinued at permit renewal as reclaimed areas are now <br />attracting a large population of local wildlife populations. Also, <br />suitable areas within the permit for this mitigation had been <br />increasingly difficult to find. Much of the habitat suitable for <br />improvement had already been completed. <br />Sagegrouse Mitigation <br />In a preliminary findings document dated December 11, 1981, the <br />Division requested additional information on Sagegrouse use of the <br />Colowyo permit area and a description of habitat mitigation <br />measures. Colowyo submitted the following response, dated May 25, <br />1982, which satisfied the remaining concerns of the Division. <br />• <br />2.05-68 <br />