Laserfiche WebLink
ST.aTE OF COLORaCO <br />• plc ~ar0 0. Lamm, Go.arn or <br />O EPARTAtE NT OF N4TURgL RESOURO~s <br />DIVISION OF VJILDLI~>= ~'" nl° ~ ~~'~ <br />Jack R. Grla D, Ohre ctor <br />.:. ;, 1 i~,,l <br />Danvar, Ca~oraao 80216 625-1192 <br />PtFitia.;7Tfi•:G S~RVI^r'S <br />V <br />H° H O R A N D U M <br />T0: Dan `?athevs ' <br />' Mined Land Reclamation <br />• FRO`.1: Al Whitaker ~ ~ • <br />Wildlife Program Speei~ist ' <br />SUBJcCT: Shrub Density Performa..e Standards <br />DATE: Dece^~' er 1C, 19E1 <br />. Lp~R~14 <br />o ~~_ I, <br />d µ , _ <br />~~ „ <br />'~Y OF ~~~ <br />I have given considerable thought to the above referenced subject and <br />have searched the available literature dealing with shrub density. <br />Ic is obvious that (a) mountains rub habitats have not been measured <br />in terns of a number of see=s per acre in the past, and (b) any recom- <br />mendation c+e could make which vou'_d be most beneficial to wildlife <br />• would be uneconomical for a coal corinany to achieve with present tech- <br />:~•.:_ <br />nology, within bonding periods specified by lav,and regulation. <br />Mountain shrub and sagebrush habitats are very i.portant to wildlife <br />• 1n Colorado. In a recent survey of the Williams £ork Planning Unit <br />, (Bureau of Lard Hanagemenc), therz vas a 92 percent overlap of strip- <br />, __ pable coal resource areas and bib dame winter range. Most of this <br />winter range vas mountain shrub ~d sagebrush vegetation. Shrubs are <br />the cost imoortant food source'tc wildlife species during severe winters <br />for the sL-.p le reason that they protrude above the snow and are, thus, <br />• available as food. The important gsae species, the sage grouse, is <br />totally dependent omits sagebrtis:l vircer habitats. In short, the <br />state's shrub vegetative habitats are critically important to the <br />wildlife resource. ' <br />I find the recent letter to you ?rem Kenc Crofts a bit t:isleading, <br />although he does stave several goci recom.•sendations. From what he has <br />said, is could be deduced that shrub density and wildlife use are <br />inversely proportional. Such is roc true and big game only avoid areas <br />of extrc:tely high shrub density, and these dense shrub arc as do pro- <br />vide cover and nesting habitat fir a variety of wildlife other titan <br />deer and elk. <br />One rust bear in Hind that big b_e winter ranges are such for several <br />reasons: Elevation, Aspect, Ve,;a_ation and Slope. All these co^ponencs <br />are important toYche wildlife ut::izing the particula[ winter range, but <br />