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influenced by the relatively high snow accumulation within the survey area but may also reflect <br />• potential changes in the local population or shifts in overall wintering areas. <br />Herds were widely distributed over the expanded azea during each of the 13 surveys. <br />However, herds were always conspicuously absent from the agricultural fields and grasslands in <br />the northwest, north central, and southeast parts of the area. Although elk are generalist feeders, <br />the amount of snow cover over the low vegetation within those azeas likely inhibited their use <br />during the winter months. Consequently elk concentrated activities within habitats where ample <br />higher quality forage was available above the snow-line. <br />A total of 172 mule deer in 18 herds were observed within the expanded survey azea in <br />2006. Mule deer herds ranged in size from 1 to 19 animals, and averaged 9.6 individuals. Mule <br />deer were only observed in steep terrain on two portions of the expanded area, the south-central <br />and northwest (Exhibit 1). All deer were associated with either mountain brush or sagebrush <br />habitats. <br />The lack of deer observations during the December 1994 survey (Figure 2) was likely due <br />to poor ground conditions and the use of a fixed-wing aircraft for the survey, as significantly <br />• more deer were observed in January 1995 during surveys employing a helicopter. Densities from <br />1995-2004 ranged from 0.27 to 0.76 deer/miz. In 2005, mule deer density in the expanded area <br />increased to approximately twice the highest previous count. Mule deer density increased again <br />in 2006, although it remained relatively low at 1.92 deer/mil. Regional population trends and the <br />availability of forage in the general vicinity of the survey area likely influence the number of deer <br />observed during big game surveys. Previous high densities of 0.75 and 0.76 deer/miz in 1997 <br />and 2004, respectively, may also have been influenced by the combination of those variables <br />with above-average snow depth in the azea. Although snowfall may also have affected deer <br />density in 2006, the sharp increase in recent yeazs is more indicative of a fundamental change in <br />local deer populations or winter habitat use. <br />During aerial surveys, most mule deer have typically been observed in three distinct <br />portions of the survey azea: the northwest (north and west of Seneca II-W), extreme northeast, <br />and extreme south central. Most deer have been associated with sloping mountain brush habitats, <br />but those in the south central portion of the survey area were often on steep, exposed/relatively <br />bare, south facing slopes. This is not unexpected as mule deer expend more energy walking <br />f~ <br />2006 Yoast Mine Wildlife Monitoring Page 6 <br />