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Sage Creek Mine February 2009 <br />• potential portal locations along the mine entrance face in Section 34 T6N:R87W and Sections 2, 3, <br />and 11 T5N:R87W as well as a transportation corridor in Sections 13, 23 -25, and 36 T5N:R87W <br />and Sections 31 and 32 T5N:R86W) and an extended 1.0 mile perimeter. <br />Two species listed as State Species of Special Concern, the sharp - tailed grouse (previously <br />discussed) and greater sandhill crane (Grus canadensis tabida), are known to occur within the <br />Sage Creek Mine study area and the surrounding 1.0 -mile buffer. As part of the monitoring <br />program for the Seneca II and Yoast Mines, ICF Jones & Stokes biologists have conducted a <br />standardized protocol from 1996 to 2008 to survey for sandhill cranes in the area. Those surveys <br />include driving Twentymile County Road 27 as part of a more extensive survey route, while <br />stopping periodically to search (scanning and listening) in appropriate habitats for individuals <br />and /or pairs of cranes. When cranes were observed or heard, biologists watched for breeding <br />behavior and in some cases searched potential nesting habitat (i.e., marshes, reservoirs, and <br />moist drainages) to locate nests. Documented nesting sites not included on the survey route but <br />recorded from previous years were also checked annually for activity. All sightings recorded <br />included notes on location, habitat, and activity. <br />• 3.6 Other Wildlife <br />As noted above, no quantitative surveys targeting breeding birds, waterfowl, bats, small mammals, <br />lagomorphs, mammalian predators, furbearers, reptiles, amphibians, or fish were required or <br />conducted specifically for the Sage Creek Mine baseline study. However, surveys for some of <br />those species were conducted previously as part of the baseline studies for the Seneca II and <br />Yoast Mines. In addition to the previous surveys, all incidental sightings of wildlife on and near the <br />Sage Creek Mine, Seneca II, and Yoast Mines were recorded and a species list maintained during <br />recent and past baseline surveys and annual monitoring. <br />4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION <br />Summaries of big game and grouse annual survey results date back to the early to mid- 1990's. As <br />noted above, specific results from annual monitoring and baseline inventories prior to 2008 are <br />available for the overlapping Seneca II and Yoast Mines. All species documented during the 2008 <br />and 2009 baseline studies for Sage Creek Mine are listed in Appendix 1 at the end of this <br />document. <br />E <br />