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Lorenciro Caravan Mine - Wi(Clife Terhnira! Reyon <br />• During the coarse of the 1996 surveys, no special habitat features, such a fawning areas, were <br />identified. This is not unusual because in areas occupied year-round, fawning areas are usually <br />very dispersed occurring in areas providing security cover and limited human activity. However, <br />it is likely fawns are born in the permit area based on the observation of deer throughout the year <br />and the comparatively large amount of undisturbed habitat within the permit area and the <br />surrounding area. <br />Estimates of deer population size (density or relative abundances) within the study area are highly <br />variable. Relative abundances vary from <0.1 deer/mile of road to 1.5 deer/mile. Observations <br />from the aerial survey (Table W-2) could be considered minimum winter population size; <br />however, because of terrain and cover characteristics, many more animals could be present than <br />were counted. Perhaps the best estimate of population size is provided by the pellet-count analysis <br />(Table W-3). Based on these data, an average of approximately 150 to 250 deer were distributed <br />across the study area during 1996. This estimate is equivalent to a density of 5 to 9 deer/mile Z. <br />In addition to being the second most-common ungulate in the permit area, the mule deer is also <br />the most sought after recreational species. Since 1990, deer harvests have been increasing. In <br />addition, the CDOW indicates that the population within the Hunt Unit is increasing (CDOW, <br />1993b). <br />• Small Mammals <br />During September 1996, 300 trap nights were spent in the permit azea, 120 nights in the mountain <br />shrub and grassland and 60 nights in the coniferous forest habitat types (Table W-5). Forty-eight <br />animals were caught. Overall capture success was 16 percent. Capture success for individual <br />habitat types ranged from approximately 7 to 22 percent (Table W-5). <br />TABLE W-5 <br />LORENCITO CANYON MINE <br />SMALL MAMMAL TRANSECT DATA SUMMARY <br />Species Coniferous <br />Fores[/60 trap <br />ni hts Mountain <br />Shrub/120 trap <br />ni hts Grassland/120 <br />trap nights Total/300 trap <br />nights <br />Deer Mouse l 8 IS 24 <br />Pinyon Mouse 0 14 3 17 <br />Mexican Woodrat 2 4 0 6 <br />Least Chipmunk I 0 0 1 <br />Total 4 26 IS 48 <br />Trap Success <br />(percent) 6 21.7 l5 16 <br />L~ <br />Wildl~(e 476iD<cember 9. 1996 14 <br />