2008-03-12_REPORT - C1980005

• Permit No: C1980005
• IBM Index Class Name: REPORT
• Doc Date: 3/12/2008
• Doc Name: 2007 Annual Reclamation Report
• From: Seneca Coal Company
• To: DRMS
• Permit Index Doc Type: Annual Reclamation Report
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

•
•
Figure 2. Mule deer density on the expanded survey area during winter aerial surveys
from 1994 through 2007.
~.
a'
y
a~
^~

2.2
2
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
- --- -- - 1.92-----
--- --------------------------1.54_ ~\

------0.75--------------------------------0.76
~~o\ 0.59 - --0.64
_ _ 0.54 _
0.40 ~ - ---- ~, ------- -
0.41
0.34 0.35 _ ~ 0.34
------ \.... o\ -- -- --0.27-- - \ -- --
o
0.00 -\, - O'--I I-- \_...~--~\~I--~. ~ ~..
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Year
Expanded survey area: 84.5 mil (1994-1995), 89.5 mil (1996-2007).
•
Regional population trends and the availability of forage in the general vicinity of the
survey area likely influence the number of deer observed during big game surveys. Previous high
densities of 0.75 and 0.76 deer/mil in 1997 and 2004, respectively, may also have been
influenced by the combination of those variables with above-average snow depth in the area.
The large increase in deer densities in 2005 and 2006 could not be exclusively explained by snow
depth, and may have reflected a change in local deer populations or regional distribution.
During aerial surveys, most mule deer have typically been observed in three distinct
portions of the survey area: the northwest (typically north and west of Seneca II-W), extreme
northeast, and extreme south central. Most deer have been associated with sloping mountain
brush habitats, but those in the south central portion of the survey area were often on steep,
exposed/relatively bare, south facing slopes. This is not unexpected as mule deer expend more
energy walking through snow than elk, and typically concentrate in areas with high quality forage
2007 Seneca [I Mine Wildlife Monitoring Page 7