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• at the highest elevations. Rolling rangeland and agricultural fields are in the north-central, extreme northwest, and southeast portions of the area. Bottomland habitat occurs along major creeks--Grassy Creek, Sage Creek, Dry Creek--and their larger tributary draws. On the Seneca II-W permit area, elevations range from 7000 to over 7,700 feet above sea level. The terrain is highest on the east side of the permit area. Much of the area slopes down to the west toward Hubberson Gulch; the north part of the area slopes northwest toward Dry Creek. Mining activity is largely confined to the southern two-thirds of the permit area. Mountain brush and sagebrush are the two most common native habitats on the permit area. A few aspen stands, occur on the area, primarily on the east side. Bottomland is very limited on the permit area. • iraa~a aavu.~ Big game--elk (Cervus elaphus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)--were counted during an aerial survey completed on 28 December 1994. The 84.5-mil survey area was covered by flying 23 north-south transects spaced at half-mile intervals. The survey was begun on the eastern-most transect and progressed to the west. We started the survey at 13:23h and completed it at 15:56h. A Cessna 206 was used for the survey. Flight speed and altitude were 70 to 80 miles per hour and approximately 300 feet, respectively. The flight crew included a pilot and two biologists. One biologist was responsible for spotting and counting herds. Along each transect, the observer counted all big game animals within a 1/2-mile strip on the west side of the flight path. The second biologist also looked for animals, but his primary tasks were to navigate and record all observations. Locations were • plotted on a 1:24000 topographic map. The habitat animals were in and their activity were also _ rcorded. 1994 Seneca II-W Mine Big Gone Aerial Survey page ?