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• <br />Section 816.97(d) Continued. <br />that the summer mule deer ranges in Mlddle Park, Colorado, which is <br />similar to the North Park region, are capable of supporting about <br />180 deer per square mile. Since the wile deer summer range in <br />Middle Park is not unlike that found in North Park, it can be <br />assumed that the proposed seed mixture will be compatible with mule <br />deer dietary requirements. <br /> <br />Sage grouse forage consumption was found by Barber and Nagy (1969) <br />to be approximately 0.44 pounds per day per bird. Natural sage- <br />brush communities in the vicinity of the Kerr Mine Area have been <br />reported by Carpenter (1979) to average 398 pounds of shrub produc- <br />tion per acre. Beck (1975:21) reported that bird densities of <br />wintering sage grouse in this area ranged from 0.13 birds per acre <br />in 1974 to 0.08 birds per acre in 1975. During the winter of 1980 <br />Kerr Coal observed 2.19 birds per acre near the Marr Mine Area. <br />These data seem to indicate that forage production or utilization <br />are not limiting factors since only 0.96 pounds of sagebrush were <br />consumed per day. <br />Cdver Value <br />The plant species proposed in the revegetation plan will provide <br />cover similar to that presently encountered on undisturbed areas of <br />the Kerr Mine Area and the Kerr Tipple Area. <br />Transplants will be made on mined areas using the techniques des- <br />cribed in Section 780.18. Shrubs will be planted across the slope <br />to break up the exposure of the slope so wildlife will have in- <br />creased cover. Groupings in this manner will encourage a wider <br />distribution of different animal species and maximize the cover and <br />edge effect for wildlife in the area. <br />816-121 <br />