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Vegetation and Wildlife Baseline Survey Report <br />Linc Energy Little Snake River Project <br />5.3.3 Mammals <br />The three listed mammal species that may occur within the Little Snake River project area are <br />the Black - footed ferret (Mustela nigripes - Endangered Species - Experimental Population, Non - <br />Essential), Canada lynx (Lynx Canadensis - Threatened Species), and North American wolverine <br />(Gulo gulo luscus - Candidate Species). <br />Black footed ferrets occur in shortgrass and midgrass prairie to semidesert shrublands and are <br />typically associated with colonial mammals such as the white - tailed prairie dogs that occur <br />within north- western Colorado. Black - footed ferrets are believed to have occurred historically in <br />Moffat County. Viable relocation habitat exists in the Vermillion Creek area. At one time, this <br />area was to be used as a ferret release site, but campestral (sylvatic) plague reduced the white - <br />tailed prairie dog colonies to a level insufficient to support a ferret population. Black - footed <br />ferrets do not presently occur in the project area. <br />Canada lynx typically use coniferous forests of uneven -aged stands with relatively open <br />canopies and well - developed understories. Lynx have historically occurred in the Moffat <br />County, but are now primarily restricted to higher elevations in the central portion of Colorado. <br />Lynx reintroductions have occurred in the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado and <br />these lynx or perhaps others have been known to move through northwestern Colorado as they <br />disperse. <br />North American wolverine habitat is restricted to high - elevation areas in the western states. <br />Wolverines are dependent on deep persistent snow cover for successful denning, and they <br />concentrate their year -round activities in areas that maintain deep snow into spring and cool <br />temperatures throughout summer. Wolverines in the contiguous United States exist as small and <br />semi - isolated subpopulations in a larger metapopulation that requires regular dispersal of <br />wolverines between habitat patches to maintain itself. In Colorado, nearly all historical and <br />recent reports of wolverines are from higher elevation, alpine areas that occur in an island -like <br />fashion. Until recently, the last confirmed wolverine sighting in Colorado was in 1919. <br />Occasional reports of wolverine sightings were investigated, but wolverine were never officially <br />documented. In spring 2009, researchers with the Greater Yellowstone Wolverine Program <br />tracked a wolverine from Grand Teton National Park south into north central Colorado. This <br />was the first wolverine confirmed in the state in 90 years. <br />5.4 Special Recreation Management Areas <br />The northern portion of the Little Snake River exploration permit area is within the CDOW Pole <br />Gulch State Trust Land Management Area and the eastern portion of the exploration area is <br />within the Bakers Peak State Trust Land Management Area. <br />5.5 Big Game <br />Three big game species are common in the Little Snake River exploration area: pronghorn <br />(Antilocapra americana), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and elk (Cervus elaphus). <br />5.5.1 CDOW Seasonal Activity Definitions <br />The CDOW uses the following definitions and species activity mapping units in describing big <br />game seasonal habitat: <br />Page 14 <br />Habitat Management, Inc. December 2011 <br />