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BLM Uncompahgre Field Office Sunset Trail Area Coal Exploration Plan EA <br />3.9 Management Indicator Species <br />3.9.1 Affected Environment <br />The Forest Service is required (36 CFR 219.19(a)(6)) to produce a unique list of species to represent <br />forest communities or ecosystems as management indicator species. The 2005 Forest Plan <br />Amendment modified this list. Management indicator species that occur or have habitat in the <br />analysis area include: <br />• American marten (discussed as a Sensitive Species above); <br />• Northern goshawk (discussed as a Sensitive Species above); <br />• Elk; <br />• Merriam's Wild Turkey; and <br />• Red -Naped Sapsucker. <br />As there are only intermittent streams in the analysis area there are no management indicator fish <br />with suitable habitat present and therefore will not be discussed. <br />Elk <br />The elk herds in the exploration area are migratory, using higher elevation forests and meadows <br />during the summer. The exploration area lies in elk summer range, but not within a mapped calving <br />area or winter range. The proposed activities lie within the Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Game <br />Management Unit (GMU) 53, which is part of elk Data Analysis Unit (DAU) E -52. The elk <br />population estimate for this DAU, based on 2008 post- hunting surveys, was 3,890 elk (CPW, <br />2010), within the objective population (USFS, 2012a). <br />Merriam's Wild Turkey <br />Turkeys are widespread and locally abundant across the Paonia district, especially in oak and other <br />shrub habitats. Populations of turkey are directly controlled by hunting seasons determined by the <br />Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Other population pressures include predation from other species such <br />as coyotes. Habitat alteration can have both harmful and beneficial impacts to turkeys, and <br />treatments which provide a mosaic of habitat features, allowing for all life stages. <br />Red -Naped Sapsucker <br />In Colorado, red -naped sapsuckers forage in aspen, willows and cottonwoods close to their nest <br />sites, which are almost exclusively in mature aspen stands. Typical nest stands, dominated by large <br />aspen, have a variety of diseases that create the heart rot needed for suitable cavity excavation <br />(Kingery, 1998). Nest stands have trees infected with shelf or heartwood fungus (for drilling nest <br />cavities) and nearby willow stands (for drilling sap wells). <br />June 2013 24 <br />