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' Cliffs/Sandstone Outcrops <br />Cliffs and standstone outcrops suitable for raptor nesting are, for all practical purposes, <br />' lacking in the area. What few standstone outcrops exist are small and in locations that <br />will not be disturbed by proposed development activities. <br />WILDLIFE <br />Raptors <br />During surveys conducted in May, June and July, both active and inactive nests for <br />raptors were located (Figure 1). All suitable habitat, which included aspen and spruce-fir <br />habitat were checked for nests. Nests most commonly located were those of Cooper's and <br />red-tailed hawks in mature aspen stands. All nest locations are shown on Figure 1. Nest <br />' numbers on Figure 1 correspond to data for each nest site found in Table 1. <br />Data collected do not indicate that, within aspen habitat where nests were found any <br />particular area, within the project area, was selected over another. However, during these <br />surveys, nests were found commonly in aspen stringers and rarely in large stands of <br />aspen. With few exceptions, nests are located within 150 feet of tree stand edges. All <br />' nests were located in mature stands with wide spacing of trees and crown cover of 60% <br />or less and were most commonly found in gently sloping (less than 10% slope) terrain. In <br />some cases nests were found in aspen stands on slightly steeper slopes. In addition, most <br />' nests were found on north to east facing exposures. Typically they were in swales near <br />the top or bottom of small drainages. <br />' Many of the aspen stands are dying out and there is little regeneration. In other areas the <br />aspen stands are in an earlier seral stage. In both cases, this is affecting the amount of <br />available suitable raptor nesting habitat <br />Cooper's hawk nests were found only in mature aspen stands. All active nests for this <br />species were found near the edge of mature open stands of aspen stringers where there <br />' was little understory. Prey species were commonly observed along the ecotones between <br />these stands and nearby habitat types. This has been a common observation for both this <br />project area and in other project areas in the North Fork Valley. <br />' All red-tailed hawk nests were located in open mature aspen stands. When last checked, <br />in late June and early July young or adults were observed at all nests where they had been <br />' previously seen. These nests were all located near open areas where primary prey species <br />such as ground squirrels are more accessible. <br />' No nests were found in oakbrush/mountain shrub. The lack of nests in <br />oakbrush/mountain shrub was not unexpected, as only one owl nest has been found in <br />this habitat type during seven years of surveys conducted in the North Fork Valley. In <br />that case the nest was located in a large Gambel oak adjacent to an aspen stringer. This <br />12