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drainages) exists. Biologists also watched and listened for crane activity while conducting other <br />• surveys and traveling in the area. <br />RESULTS <br />BIG GAME <br />The sky was mostly clear during the aerial survey on 25 January 2006. Snow cover was <br />neazly complete and averaged 2-3 feet in depth; bare ground only occurred on steep southern <br />slopes. In general, snowfall was somewhat above average for the area during winter 2005-2006. <br />Visibility during the survey was rated as good. <br />Exaanded Survey Area <br />All wildlife observations from the aerial survey are listed in Appendix I. Big game <br />observations are also illustrated on Exhibit 1. A total of 520 elk (5.8/mil) in 95 herds were seen <br />during the survey (Figure 1). Eighteen mule deer herds (172 animals) were also observed. No <br />pronghorn were documented. <br />• Elk herd size varied from 1 to 21 animals, and averaged 5.5 individuals. Elk were widely <br />distributed throughout the area, but were notably absent from the north central, southeast, and <br />extreme northwest portions of the expanded azea (Exhibit 1). The predominant habitat types in <br />those portions of the survey area were agricultural fields, reclamation, and level grasslands. <br />Ninety-two percent (476) of the elk observed were associated with mountain brush habitat. The <br />remaining 8% (44) were in sagebrush-grassland habitat. <br />J&S has surveyed the expanded azea 13 times: December 1994, each January from 1995 <br />through 1998 and in 2006, each February from 1999 through 2002 and in 2005, and March of <br />2003 and 2004. Elk densities in the expanded area ranged from 1.9 to 16.5 elk/miZ from 1994- <br />2006. The densities of elk observed in 2006 (5.8/miZ) were the lowest every observed during <br />flights conducted employing helicopters. Despite the observed fluctuations in elk densities over <br />the yeazs, and omitting the December 1994 survey, densities in the expanded area have exhibited <br />an overall slight decrease since January 1995 (Figure 1). The low density recorded during the <br />December 1994 survey was likely due to poor ground conditions (patchy snow cover) and the use <br />of a fixed-wing aircrafr for the survey. These factors likely affected the observers' ability to <br />2006 Yoast Mine Wildlife Monitoring Page 4 <br />