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4-52 <br />trips (one observation of a bald eagle was made approxi- <br />• mately 3KM (5 miles). east of the town of Loma, Colorado, <br />during January, 1970). Bald eagles wintering along the <br />Colorado River in western Colorado will frequently hunt <br />in areas ecologically similar to the habitat found within <br />the lease area, although their preferred habitat in this <br />region is along the riparian zone of the Colcrado River. <br />Black-footed ferrets are unlikely to occur within the lease <br />area, since there are no prairie dogs or large populations <br />of ground squirrels to provide suitable food source. <br />According to the Colorado Division of S4ildlife, the greater <br />• sandhill crane (a State designated endangered species) is <br />seen on occasion approximately 20 miles south of the lease <br />area near the Colorado River. Although this species could <br />occur within the lease area for brief periods during its <br />migration, this seems unlikely because of the lack of suit- <br />able sandhill crane habitat in the immediate area. <br />4.6.9 Site Utilization <br />Riparian areas in and near the lease site constitute the <br />most important wildlife habitat of the area. Considerable <br />degradation to these areas has occurred historically due <br />to diverse causes over a number of years in conjunction <br />with agricultural uses of the area. Those areas that have <br />• open water and a dense stand of vegetation are the most <br />important. Locally significant displacement of small game <br />