INTRODUCTION 



This report describes results of the third year of the Circle West wildlife 

 monitoring study, coordinated by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and 

 Conservation (DNRC) , as described in the Circle West Wildlife Baseline Study 

 Final Report (DNRC 1978) and the first and second wildlife monitoring reports 

 (DNRC 1979, 1980). The report period extended from March 1, 1980, through 

 February 28, 1981. 



STUDY AREAS AND OBJECTIVES 



Study efforts during this period were primarily limited to the 113-section 

 Mine Study Area, as described in the second monitoring report (DNRC 1980). 

 Within this area, the most intensive study occurred in the 31.5-section Permit 

 Area, defined on January 23, 1980. This Permit Area includes the original 11.5- 

 section Proposed Mining Area, plus additional areas to the northeast and 

 southwest that are being considered for coal strip mining or associated 

 development (see Figure 1 in DNRC 1980). Some work was conducted in the 

 Reconnaissance Study Area (see Map 1 in DNRC 1978), which includes most of 

 McCone County . 



A primary goal of this monitoring study was to conduct a 12-month wildlife 

 investigation in these new areas which would provide a level of baseline data 

 comparable to that presented in the wildlife baseline study (DNRC 1978) for the 

 original 11.5-section Proposed Mining Area. Wildlife information also was 

 sought for a 14-section portion of the Mine Study Area added in January 1980 to 

 provide a "buffer zone" around the new Permit Area. 



In much of this report, data are treated separately for the old Proposed 

 Mining Area, the Permit Area, and the Mine Study Area. To facilitate data 

 analysis, the Permit Area was broken into three sections: the old Proposed 

 Mining Area (labelled "X" on the field maps and data sheets), the three 

 additional sections to the southwest (labelled "Y") , and the 17 additional 

 sections to the northeast (labelled "Z") (see Figure 1 in DNRC 1980). 



APPROACH 



This monitoring study focuses on a few key parameters which are indicators 

 of overall environmental conditions and year-to-year fluctuations or trends and 

 are believed to be especially sensitive to mine-related impacts, cost-effective 

 for the amount of field work required, and capable of being measured 

 quantitatively with an acceptable degree of accuracy and with a minimum of 

 "noise" or unexplained fluctuation. This approach allows both a yearly updating 

 of the data gathered during the baseline study and a measurement of long-term 

 trends and variability at minimum cost. The quantitative parameters selected 

 for the long-term monitoring were listed in the second monitoring report (DNRC 

 1980) . 



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