Laserfiche WebLink
the requirements already established in the Colorado Mined Land <br />Reclamation Act (C.R.S. 34 -32 -101 et seq. as amended) (CMLRA), is <br />and the Mineral Rules and Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land <br />Reclamation Board (Mineral Rules) would be appropriate and could <br />be easily applied to peat excavation. Because they are wetlands, <br />however, excavation of peatland sites requires special <br />considerations in lieu of, or in addition to, those already <br />specified in the Mineral Rules. <br />7.2.1 Considerations for Rules and Guidelines <br />The following items represent some of the major points that <br />should be taken into consideration when evaluating the <br />applicability of the current set of Mineral Rules to the <br />regulation of peat excavation. <br />First, it has been found that some peatlands contain rare, <br />threatened, or endangered species (Cooper in preparation). The <br />occurrence of these species appears to be related to the presence <br />of calcareous rock deposits (Cooper 1989)(see section 5.1). To <br />prevent the loss of these species, a biological inventory should <br />be conducted in conjunction with the other baseline site <br />evaluation and reporting requirements of the Mineral Rules. The <br />inventory should be conducted by an expert knowledgeable in <br />identification of such species prior to any disturbance of the <br />area. Because of difficulties with identification, inventories <br />should be conducted at the time of the growing season when most <br />66 <br />