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<br />Section 816.97(d) Continued. <br />Piopdsed Seed"Miztuie; Hiitiitional"Dalue'and"Enhancement <br />The seed mixtures proposed in Section 780.18 (b)(5) for the Kerr <br />Mine Area and the Kerr Tipple Area contain the diversity required <br />for the wildlife which use the permit area for habitat. The nutri- <br />tional requirements for antelope and mule deer have been well <br />documented. Severson, et. al. (1968:20) found that rabbitbrush <br />and sagebrush amounted to 98 percent of the forage consumed by <br />antelope in southern Wyoming during the summer. As can be observed <br />in Table 67, Kerr Mine Area Seed Mixture, both shrubs have been <br />included in the seed mixture. Also, it can be observed from Sec- <br />tion 779.19 that both species reinvade disturbed sites rapidly. <br />For spring and summer mule deer forage, Kufeld et. al. (1973) <br />reports that data collected in the White River area of northwestern <br />Colorado indicated that of the shrubs, serviceberry, aspen, choke- <br />cherry, bitterbrush, and gambel oak are among the most sought after <br />• species. Grass species listed as important during spring and <br />summer include western wheatgrass, bluebunch wheatgrass, mountain <br />brome, bluegrass, and needlegrasses. Forbs were found to contri- <br />bute slightly to the summer diet of mule deer. <br />Hansen and Reid (1975), working at another location in western <br />Colorado, described summer mule deer diets as being composed mainly <br />of fescues, bluegrass, and mountain mahogany, with several other <br />species contributing minor amounts. <br />The proposed seed mixture includes all species described in these <br />studies which occur in the Mine Plan Area. <br />As documented by Wallmo, et. al, (1977), the forage quantity and <br />quality of plants to supply the nutritional requirements is not <br />limited by summer, but rather by winter range requirements. The <br />present summer population of mule deer in the area averages approx- <br />imately one deer per square mile. Wallmo, et. al. (1977) report <br />816-120 <br />