1993-11-15_PERMIT FILE - C1981017

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Past and Present• Condi ti on of Range and Resources in Coal Basin Coal Creek Basin has provided very good wildlife habitat throughout the 1900's. Habitats have been diverse, with mountain grassland, aspen, conifer, and oak vegetation abundant and in good juxtaposition with each other. Some riparian and alpine vegetation also contriubte to habitat diversity. While mining activity in the area over the past three decades has altered very little physical habitat, it has caused disturbance and displacement of some wildlife species which are particularly sensitive to human activities. Populations of elk, turkey, goshawk and deer are probably lower now than they would be if active mining were not occuring. Little historical information, and no quantitative data on historical wildlife population sizes, exist for Forest lands in the Coal Creek Basin. In general, the Crystal River area has seen the elk population steadily increase over the past several decades. Deer populations increased drama- tically in the 1950's through the mid- 1960's, then declined, and are now increasing slowly. Termination of mining operations can have two general positive impacts on wildlife. Abandoned portals, roads, and staging areas can be put into primary production, and provide the physical habitat useful to many wild- life species. This would be a very small, but significant, increase in available habitat. The other, more important, impact can be a very sig- nificant reduction in human - related activity in Coal Basin. Such improved solitude conditions would permit increases of sensitive wildlife species' populations. Range conditions have always been good in Coal Basin, except for areas of high natural erosion, and some small over - grazed areas dating to the early 1940's. -- Corrective management has improved range conditions since 1945, and present stocking levels are one - fourth lower than at that time. With management, range quality should improve in the future, but as a result of natural succession grasslands in Coal Basin are very slowly converting to aspen and conifer forests, therefore reducing the quantity of grassland range.