2008-05-01_REVISION - M1973007SG (5)

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RECLAMATION PLAN plan. The wildlife habitat/green space use, although small and of limited value for wildlife, would add an interesting parcel of more or less natural character land in the midst of a largely industrial/commercial area. For the east side, final land uses are more flexible, except where the new sediment basin would be established. That area will likely be restricted to a use similar to the sediment basin on the west side, namely a wildlife area with revegetation to grasses, trees, and shrubs. The use of this area for sediment collection will provide a unique opportunity on this land. In general, woody vegetation is extremely difficult to establish on the sand deposit. Past tree plantings, even with additional water, were largely unsuccessful due to the porosity of the sand and its inability to hold much water at the depths required for trees and most shrubs. In the original county approval of the special use permit there was a requirement to establish trees along Bradley Road. That was attempted using honey locust which is about as drought tolerant as most xeriscape trees,but with even regular watering that resulted in only a few scrawny trees that never attained much height. Establishing a sediment basin just north of Bradley Road will allow the placement of a plant growth material that will hold considerably more water and therefore can result in a much more successful planting. Furthermore, establishing trees and shrubs over the sediment basin will create a forested area far larger than would be established with just a row of trees along Bradley Road. So, even though the Bradley Road planting was essentially a failure,this new plan will replace that with far more(forested Jand than was originally envisioned and expected by El Paso County. For the rest of the pit, the floor will be almost level and on top of the remaining sand which is underlain by clay and gravel seams. Potentially this could become another industrial or commercial area. But for the purposes of this plan the floor will be revegetated with grasses and turned into wildlife habitat. If, at some point in the future, the land is developed then this final land use can be easily modified into other uses after the reclamation is completed. It is possible that before the reclamation is done, another party might want to acquire the land for development. But at this time there has been no such interest expressed and therefore the wildlife habitat in a primarily grassed vegetation is the only reclamation plan that can be viably proposed. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE RECLAMATION PLAN The reclamation plan for this site is actually fairly simple. Producing those final conditions prior to reclamation, in some respects, is more difficult. With a major highway being established to the north, the need to relocate the Fountain Mutual Ditch, and the presence of the Daniels Sand Pit Amendment (2008) Exhibit E Page 2 of 22