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• ~ 1.0 INTRODUCTION <br />1.1 STUDY DESCRIPTION <br />This study was conducted between April 1984 and June 1985, to evaluate <br />wildlife resources in the Danforth 1 and 3 leases and vicinity (Figure 1-1) <br />in Rio Blanco and Moffat counties of northwest Colorado. The study was <br />designed and executed in accordance with regulatory requirements of the <br />Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Division (CMLRD), the Office of Surface <br />Mining (OSM), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Complementary <br />wildlife baseline information was gathered during the Meeker PRLA Elk <br />Baseline Study (CDM 1984a) and related environmental studies conducted by <br />Camp Dresser & McKee Inc. (CDM) under contract to Consolidation Coal <br />Company (Consol). <br />Specific objectives of this study were to determine the status of <br />state-managed wildlife species, state and federally threatened and <br />• endangered species, migratory birds of high federal interest, and other <br />wildlife species within the Danforth Hills study area. Review of wildlife <br />issues (43 CFR, Subpart 3461) by the BLM in consultation with the U.S. Fish <br />and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) prior <br />to leasing of the Danforth 1 and 3 tracts, indicated that all lands within <br />the study area are suitable for surface coal mining operations (BLM 1980a, <br />1983). Therefore, the focus of this study was definition of the extent and <br />importance of existing habitat for state-managed wildlife as a basis for <br />development of a habitat recovery and replacement plan in accordance with <br />special stipulations for wildlife established in the BLM Danforth 1 and 3 <br />lease. <br />1.2 REGIONAL SETTING <br />The study area is located in the southeastern Danforth Hills (Figure 1-1), <br />which physiographically represents a transitional area between the Wyoming <br />Basin to the north, the southern Rocky Mountains to the east, and the <br />• Colorado Plateau to the south and west. Regionally, the study area is <br />bounded by the Axial Basin and Yampa River to the north and west, the White <br />1-1 <br />