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and can be expected to continue occurring on this site as it does on other areas such as inclusions of croplands. The sage-grass site does not provide hiding or thermal cover to big game. Sage grouse populations in the area are very low and no known alive leks for sage or sharp-tail grouse exist on or near the mine plan area. 2) Range sites A and B, mountain shrub types, will be returned to spring-summer-fall mule deer habitat and elk winter habdat with consideration for spring and fall livestock grazing and year-round water- shed management. Shrubs will be reestablished on range sites A and B in clumps approximately 1.6 acres in size. Since critical deer winter range does not exist at Trapper Mine, the purpose of reestablished shrubs will be to provide hiding and thermal cover to promote spring, summer, and fall use. These same shrub Dumps will provide thermal cover and forage to wintering elk. Shrub Gump survival data is given in Table 4.413. Mature shrub Dumps will be considered successfully established upon verification by a CDMG representative that clump construction was accomplished according to permit agreements. 3) The distance between shrub Dumps (across open forage areas) will not generally exceed 1,400 feet. State regulations require that a permittee demonstrate shrub seedlings are viable and showing growth. This will be demonstrated from density measurements. Shrubs that do not show evidence of I'rfe will not be counted. No actual measurements of stem height or woody plant cover are necessary. Individuals that are alive at the time of evaluating reGamation success, i.e.. in the 10th year of liability will have demonstrated vigor and production potential by virtue of the time elapsed. Further, palatable species such as bitterbrush or mountain mahogany will probably be kept cropped back by grazing ungulates, preGuding meaningful measurements of height and cover. The goals of shrub re-establishment are to provide adequate wikllife cover and suitable forage, while simurtaneousy maximizing the value of the land for IivestoGr use. Section 4.8.2.1 provides a discussion of shrub cover and forage as required by deer and elk. Append'a O inGudes a paper 'Re-establishment of Shrubs at the Trapper Mine' that provides a detailed discussion and justfication for the shrub re- establishment goals at Trapper Mine. The shrub re-establishment standani for Trapper Mine on range sites A and B will be a minimum of 400 live stems per acre. Part of this standard will be accomplished through the establishment of mature shrub Dumps as described earlier. As the Dumps are approximatey 1,400 feet apart, the clumps will have an area of influence of neariy 48 acres. A minimum of 250 mature shrub pads are transplanted in each 1.8 acre shrub Gump which will provide hiding and thermal cover in each 48-acre area of influence. The major shrub species transplanted are Gambel's Oak, servicebery, chokecherry, and snowbery. However, all shrub species will be counted to meet density requirements since all species provide some measure of forage and/or cover (Table 4.414). The shrub density standard may also be met through 4-118