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nor will it result in an actual or probable threat of water flow diminution or pollution contrary to <br />any state or federal laws, policies or regulations. Such a conversion will not alter or result in any <br />unreasonable delays in reclamation. It will not have adverse impacts on fish, wildlife, related <br />environmental values, or any of the habitats associated with threatened or endangered species. <br />As required by Rule 4.16.3(6) with respect to alternative land uses, the reclamation of the current <br />irrigated pasture land uses to similar land uses "would require continuous maintenance" and <br />"sufficient water" both of which the existing landowners on the Glasier and WFC -Meehan <br />properties are either unwilling or unable to provide. Since they are unwilling or unable to provide <br />these inputs, it is impossible for NHN to reclaim these disturbed lands to their current land uses. <br />NHN believes that the proposed reclamation of these current irrigated pasture land use areas to <br />dryland pasture is consistent with Rule 4.16.1, which require that the lands disturbed by mining <br />be reclaimed "to conditions that are capable of supporting the uses which they are capable of <br />supporting before any mining" or "to higher or better uses ..." Given the absence of water it is <br />impossible to reclaim these lands to their pre -disturbance capability. Also it is important to point <br />out that reclamation of these lands to dryland pasture is not as described by the Dryland Pasture <br />vegetation and land use type which is currently producing an average of only 348.6 pounds of <br />air-dry forage per acre but instead will be similar to that associated with the Dryland Pasture <br />Reclamation found on the Rice Tract on the old NH Mine, where the vegetation baseline studies <br />described in Section 2.04.10, document that an average of 845.0 pounds of air-dry forage is <br />currently being produced. NHN acknowledges that this forage production level is less than the <br />current average of 3,285.3 pounds of air-dry forage per acre being produced on the Irrigated <br />Pasture vegetation type and land use type, but this is simply not a realistic goal since the water <br />on all of these areas is simply not available. <br />Section 2.05.5 Page 5 April 2016 (PR -01) <br />