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. RESULTS <br />BIG GAME <br />Overall visibility conditions for the 18 February 2007 aerial flight were rated as good to <br />excellent. The sky was mostly clear, and snow cover was variable, with complete coverage on <br />northern slopes and bare ground to 30% coverage on the steeper southern slopes. Where most <br />prevalent, snow depth averaged 1 - 2.5 feet. Snowfall for the 2006/2007 winter to that date was <br />considered average. <br />The ability to detect big game animals during aerial surveys is influenced by many <br />factors, such as snow cover, light conditions, habitat, topography, weather, group size, activity, <br />sex and age. The observed variance in big game numbers recorded throughout the survey period <br />represents a combination of these visibility biases, snow accumulation on the survey area and <br />general vicinity, land use changes, forage quality, and larger population trends. <br />Expanded Survey Area <br />• All big game and other wildlife observations from the aerial survey are listed in Appendix <br />I and illustrated on Exhibit 1. A total of 632 elk (7.1/mil) in 81 herds were seen during the <br />survey (Figure 1). Nine mule deer herds (57 animals) were also observed. No pronghorn were <br />documented. - <br />Elk herd size varied from 1 to 63 animals, and averaged 7.8 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 area (Exhibit 1). The predominant habitat types in <br />those portions of the survey area were agricultural fields, reclamation, and level grasslands. All <br />of the elk observed were associated with mountain brush habitat. <br />J&S has surveyed the expanded area over 14 times in 13 winters:.December 1994, each <br />January from 1995 through 1998 and in 2006, each February from 1999 through 2002, 2005 and <br />2007, and March of 2003 and 2004. Elk densities in the expanded area ranged from 1.9 to 16.5 <br />elk/mi~ from 1994-2007. Although the density of elk observed in 2007 (7.1/min) was higher than <br />that observed in the previous year, it was below the 13-year average of 9.4 elk/mi2, and the <br />second lowest ever observed during flights conducted employing helicopters. Despite the <br />• observed fluctuations in elk densities over the years, and omitting the December 1994 survey, <br />2007 Seneca 11-W Mine Wildlife Monitoring Page 4 <br />