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• level associated with the mining effort would impact bear, <br />cougar, raptors, elk, and other ani;aal usu to some degrae, <br />especially close to on-going work areas. Probability of <br />vehicle-animal collisions would increase with an incrcasa• <br />in human activity. This impact could not Uo avoided wit::out <br />construction of fencing or wildlife passes (over or under <br />the existing roads); road use and animal numbers are not <br />sufficient to justify the cost at this time. As previously <br />stated, a loss of vezetal cover and food would result frc~ <br />the mining operation; therefore, the temporary loss of <br />these habitat values [o all wildlife species cannot be miti- <br />gated. The expected increase i1 rodent populations during <br />the revegetation program would aI^ost certainly result i:± <br />• a corresponding but tine-lagged increase in the numbers of <br />coyotes, fox, snakes, and raptors. Although predator ccntrol <br />would be possible, at least to a limited degree, the increase <br />in predator numbers was included in this section because they <br />should be allowed and encouraged to use the area the predators <br />would act to help limit the rodent numbers, and this in turn <br />would aid in the establishment of the revegetated area. There- <br />fore, no action should be taken to mitigate rite increase in <br />predator nur..bers. Noise produced by mining equipment and the <br />work itself would be expected to be great enough to preclude <br />the use of the raptor's keen hearing, thereby reducing t;teir <br />hunting ability in close proximity to the ongoing mining <br />r1 <br />U <br />153 <br /> <br />