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• GOLDEN EAGLE NEST MONITORING <br />On 25 and 29 April, known golden eagle nests on or within one mile of the permit area <br />were checked for activity. Each day, a biologist observed the nests through a spotting scope <br />from a vehicle parked at a vantage point. Nests were watched until their status (active, <br />inactive, alternate, etc.) could be determined. <br />RESULTS <br />BIG GAME <br />The sky was mostly cloudy during the 24 January aerial survey. It had snowed a small <br />amount during the week prior to the survey, but snow fall was rather minimal in December <br />1997 and January 1998 (R. Karo, pers. comm.). Snow depth over the entire area was <br />probably less one foot in late January. Visibility during the survey was rated as fair to good. <br />Expanded Survey Area <br />• A complete listing of all observations made during the aerial survey is given in <br />Appendix I. All sightings are also plotted on Exhibit 1. A total of 1,268 elk (14.2/mil) i^ 84 <br />herds were seen during the survey. Five herds of mule deer (30 animals) were also observed. <br />Just one coyote (Canis latrans) was recorded along the west edge of the survey area. Raptors <br />seen included six golden eagles and two adult bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). <br />Elk occurred as lone individuals and in herds of as many as 80 animals; average herd <br />size was 15.1 animals. Elk were widely distributed over the area, but were notably absent <br />from the north-central part of the area, and along the extreme northwest and southeast edges <br />of the area (Exhibit 1). The perdominant habitat types in those portions of the survey area are <br />agricultural fields and flat grasslands. Only two herds were seen on the Seneca permit area; <br />two herds were also seen on the Seneca iI-W permit area; and seven were on Yoast. <br />Eighty-six percent of the elk seen (1,097) were in mountain brush habitat. Sagebrush- <br />grassland was the only other habitat the held a substantial percentage (10%) of the elk seen. A <br />few herds were observed in aspen (41 elk) and grassland (7 elk). <br />PRES has surveyed the expanded area four other times: in December 1994, and each <br />• January from 1995 through 1997. The very low density recorded during the December 1994 <br />1998 Seneca II-W Mine Wildlife Monitoring Page 3 <br />