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• topography. Each drainage in the area was systematically searched to <br />minimize duplicate counts of elk. <br />During July 1983 and 1984, intensive helicopter searches of the West Fork <br />of Good Spring Creek were conducted to obtain an estimate of the abundance <br />of elk within the Danforth Hills study area (Table 3-1). Each elk group <br />encountered was mapped on USGS 7.5-minute topographic quadrangles. The <br />number of animals in each group, date, time, and habitat type were recorded <br />for each observation. Two replicate searches of the study area were <br />conducted during July 1983 and 1984. A Bell Jet Ranger III helicopter <br />manned by a pilot and three observers was used to search the entire study <br />area. Each survey was initiated at first light or within 1-1/2 hr of dark. <br />Each of these surveys included morning and evening replicates. Elk were <br />aged and sexed when possible as adult male, adult female, yearling male, <br />yearling female, calves, and unclassified. A. minimum elk population <br />estimate was derived by summing the maximum number of animals recorded in <br />each age/sex class for each pair of replicate searches. Results of these <br />• helicopter surveys were also used to delineate elk rearing areas within the <br />study area. <br />Systematic aerial surveys of the Danforth Hills study area were conducted <br />once every two weeks during May through July 1983 and 1984 to delineate <br />patterns of deer and elk distribution within the study area. These surveys <br />were conducted in a Cessna 182 or 203 aircraft manned by a pilot and three <br />observers. Locations of all elk groups observed during these searches were <br />mapped; group size, habitat type, date, and time of day were also recorded <br />for each mapped observation. The distribution of deer throughout the study <br />area was also evaluated during each of these flights. <br />Additional data concerning the site-specific and regional distribution and <br />movement patterns of deer, elk, and antelope were obtained during aerial <br />radio-telemetry surveys conducted in conjunction with the Meeker PRLA Elk <br />Baseline Study. These telemetry surveys were initiated during January 1984 <br />and continued through June 1985. Flights were conducted twice monthly <br />• during the winter months (October-April), weekly during the period between <br />mid-May and mid-June, and at least once a month during July and August. <br />3-4 <br />