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1 <br />' COLORADO YAMPA COAL COMPANY <br />ELK CALVING BEHAVIOR STUDY <br />' 1985 COMPLETION REPORT <br />' INTRODUCTION <br />' This is the fifth annual progress report of Colorado Yampa Coal Company's <br />(CYCC) Elk Calving Study and reports study progress and results through July <br />' 31, 1985. Results of all five years of the study are summarized in this re- <br />port; however, only maps showing elk locations from August 1, 1984 through <br />' July 31, 1985 are included here. For other elk location maps, see past annual <br />reports. This report constitutes a final report fulfilling the stipulations <br />' requiring a 5 year elk study be conducted as mitigation for CYCC's Permit <br />79-177. <br /> <br /> <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br />The purpose of the study is to monitor elk calving behavior in connection <br />with habitat disturbance resulting from surface coal mining activities. Be- <br />cause of the concern for elk calving habitat, a portion of the coal was origi- <br />nally designated as unsuitable for mining and excluded from CYCC's Eckman Park <br />coal lease (C-22644). This area had been identified by various regulatory <br />agencies as being an elk calving ground. Although elk were known to use this <br />area for calving, there was insufficient data to document the exact importance <br />or extent of this calving ground in connection with the regional productivity <br />of the elk herd. Previous monitoring of elk calving in 1979 and 1980 revealed <br />that the area being used by the elk for calving and suitable for calving was <br />more extensive than originally believed and that the area excluded from Lease <br />C-22644 was a less important part of the calving area. However, there was <br />still concern for the elk which have historically calved in the Eckman Park <br />Permit area and no information was available to adequately document what might <br />happen to these animals if these areas were disturbed. Although it was felt <br />that there would be impacts to the elk it was also believed that these impacts <br />could be substantially mitigated and that the situation provided an excellent <br />opportunity to study the effects of coal mining on elk behavior. Therefore, <br />it was stipulated by the CDOW that CYCC would conduct a 5 year elk study in <br />order to obtain the coal originally excluded from Lease C-22644 and the un- <br />suitability designation was reversed. <br />-1- <br />