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1 <br />~'•f} ' • -'- • <br />grouse in North Park can withstand more pressure from recreationists pro- <br />vided no serious loss of habitat occurs and that the quality of areas <br />important for breeding, nesting, brood rearing and winter use is not <br />impaired by visual, acoustical or physical impacts. <br />The sage grouse resource in North Park, Jackson County, Colorado has <br />been and is currently well inventoried. Extensive studies of portions of <br />the area and population date to 1963. Sage grouse throughout North Park <br />have been intensively studied since 1973 and the integrity of the population <br />has been documented. Important winter and breeding season use sites have <br />been identified. Annual trends in the population in North Park have been <br />measured through lek counts of males, changes in the survival rates of banded <br />samples, changes in age and sex composition of the fall harvest, and harvest <br />estimates. These data allow comparisons by lek, groups of leks or larger <br />subunits so that differences within various areas of North Park can be <br />examined. <br />Effects of fertilizer upon vegetation composition and density have been <br />extensively evaluated. Most published studies have concerned improvement of <br />yields and quality of cultivated crops. More recently, numerous studies <br />have investigated the use of fertilizers to improve forage quantity and <br />quality on native rangelands. Fertilization to improve habitats for wild- <br />life is recent and positive results with big game species have been docu- <br />mented. Studies in the sagebrush type within Colorado have shown that <br />nitrogen fertilizer increases the quantity and quality of forage available. <br />Studies with capercaillie, willow ptarmigan, rock ptarmigan, red grouse, <br />blue grouse and spruce grouse have indicated that grouse select Eorage <br />