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reclaimed areas and readily available adjacent undisturbed native vegetation will provide • <br />ample opportunities for well-balanced diets far both livestock and wildlife. Availability <br />of lends with a palatable herbaceous forage may aid in reducing wildlife impacts to <br />regional agricultural fields, particularly haylands and stockyards. Likewise, livestock <br />will concentrate on the open reclaimed areas reducing pressure on adjacent native hebi l:a t. <br />The reclaimed plant communities, with a high composition of herbaceous species, will <br />enhance the forage diversity end habitat for wildlife by increasing the availability of <br />succulent forages. Succulent forages are high in digestible protein and digestible energy <br />and may remain palatable end nutritious even after they have completed their annual growth <br />(Cook et eL., 1977). Also, animal performance is related to the amount of digestible <br />energy and digestible protein in forages. This is especially true for livestock and big <br />game nearing the end of the gestation cycle (spring), end during lactation (spring through <br />summer). The succulent herbaceous forage in the reclaimed plant communities will provide <br />nutrient levels that meet these increased needs for both livestock and big game better <br />than woody dominated native vegetation. Again, the large numbers of deer and elk present <br />on reclaimed areas demonstrate the utility of a herbaceous forage resource to big game and <br />their affinity for such areas at various times. • <br />Early greening spring grasses contribute significantly to mule deer diets in the Rocky <br />Mountain end Intermountain regions (Willms and McLean, 1978). Yoakum and Dasmann (1971) <br />also reported pregnant does benefit directly from the availability of green forages during <br />the critical early spring period. If the winter has been severe, the need for succulent <br />and nutritious spring forage is even more critical. Big game select out those forages <br />highest in nutritive quality when available and also those that are greening and succulent <br />(Mereszczak et el., 1981 and Armstrong, 1975). To a lesser extent, these benefits will <br />benefit other witdl ife species. <br />Various studies show mule deer and elk prefer succulent forages mare than woody species <br />during various times of the year. Miller et al. (1981) found big game selected up to 52 <br />percent grasses in their diets during the period of March through June. Forbs accounted <br />for 38 percent. The big game in this study also tended to congregate in areas where <br />palatable forage occurred. The study site was in forested areas with brush understory and <br />clear cut areas seeded with palatable herbaceous forage. While these opened areas covered <br />only 31 percent of the area, ~66 percent of the big game diet came from them. The value of <br />forage plants av ailable [o deer and elk may be as important as structural characteri::tics <br />4 <br />