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blown material, or other indicative sign in the opening of a burrow was used to <br /> identify inactive burrows. Burrow openings without these sign were considered active. <br /> For active burrows, no attempt was made to distinguish between occupancy by prairie <br /> dogs or other burrow dwelling wildlife species. <br /> While conducting ground-truthing and the burrow density surveys, field personnel <br /> also searched, opportunistically for any sign (scat, diggings, tracks or skulls) that <br /> might have indicated the potential presence of black-footed ferrets. <br /> Spotlight Surveys for Black-footed Ferrets <br /> Ferret searches are recommended for projects or actions that may affect prairie dog <br /> towns or town complexes (contained within a circle 4.5 miles in radius) that are 250 <br /> acres or larger, according to the most recent (March 12, 1986) U. S. Fish and Wildlife <br /> Service (USFWS) "Black-footed Ferret Survey Guidelines for Compliance with The <br /> Endangered Species Act." A total of approximately 260 acres of prairie dog towns were <br /> delineated and mapped within the Nucla East Mine study area (see Table 1). Therefore, <br /> nighttime spotlight surveys for ferrets were conducted during the August 1987 survey <br /> period. <br /> Prior to initiating the spotlight surveys, local residents, law enforcement <br /> personnel,and Colorado Division of Wildlife personnel were notified of the timing and <br /> location of spotlight surveys to be conducted. Spotlight surveys were conducted on <br /> three consecutive nights from August 17th to 19th, 1987. Spotlight surveys were not <br /> conducted during periods of inclement weather such as heavy rain or high winds. <br /> 4f the 260 acres of prairie dog town identified within the study area, approximately <br /> 239 acres (92 percent) of prairie dog town were surveyed by spotlight survey (see <br /> 3 <br />