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• an important factor in explaining fluctuations in sharp-tailed grouse populations and <br />consequently the number of grouse at leks. In years during and following drought, lower <br />numbers of males per lek are generally observed, whereas increased numbers of males per lek <br />generally occur following years when spring and summer moisture falls at the optimum time to <br />maximize reproduction and brood survival. Additionally, the sharp decrease in male attendance <br />in 2004 may have also been a result of grouse moving to other nearby and newly formed leks <br />(i.e., those discovered in 2004 and 2005). Heavy snow in 2008 may have been responsible for <br />the lower counts of sharp-tailed grouse recorded in this past year, but drought conditions prior to <br />2004 may have contributed to declines during those periods. <br />No other upland game birds (including blue grouse [Dendragapus obscures] or greater sage- <br />grouse [Centrocercus urophasianus]) were documented during surveys for the Yoast Mine in <br />2008. <br />Golden Eagle Nest Monitoring <br />• One golden eagle territory composed of two separate nests (GOEA 8a and 8b) along the rock <br />cliff in SW SE Section 7 T5N:R87W is present approximately 1000 feet west of the Yoast Mine <br />permit boundary (Exhibit 1). In 2008, biologists visited the two nests on April 29, and recorded <br />no activity or observations of golden eagles in the vicinity. The territory was active with a nesting <br />pair of golden eagles in 2002 and 2003, but no nesting activity or eagles have been documented <br />in the area since 2003. <br />Sandhill Cranes <br />Several sandhill cranes were documented within the Yoast Mine survey area by ICF Jones & <br />Stokes biologists during spring surveys in 2008. On the morning of April 29, two cranes were <br />heard calling from NW SE Section 29 T6N:R87W, and two sandhill cranes were seen <br />performing a courtship display in NE NE Section 5 T5N:R87W. Also on that day, a third pair of <br />cranes was observed building a nest along Sage Reservoir, approximately 0.6 mile west of the <br />Yoast Mine permit area. One individual was repeatedly collecting and carrying nesting material <br />to a location near the southwest edge of Sage Reservoir, while the second individual followed. <br />• On May 2, biologists recorded four cranes, including two cranes foraging along Grassy Creek <br />(SW NW Section 15 T5N:R87W) and two cranes heard but not seen in NE Section 29 <br />2008 Yoast Mine Wildlife Monitoring Page 7