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Weldon W. and Jennifer K. Flaharty <br />1005 Glenrock Dr. <br />Colorado Springs, CO 80926 <br />weldon.flaharty@parsons.com <br />jenflaharty@earthlink.net <br />719-527-1572 <br />December 1, 2017 <br />Ms. Amy Eschberger <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />Ms. Eschberger, <br />R EC EIvEL) <br />DEC 0 5 2017 <br />�I�L�iR11�'6C� <br />As property owners and residents in the Southwest Highway 115 area, we object to Transit Mix <br />Concrete Company's (TM's) application M2017-049 to establish a quarry on Hitch Rack Ranch. <br />We urge the Mine Land Reclamation Board (MLRB) to deny TM's application. <br />Application approval would jeopardize water resources of local residents, negatively impact <br />property values and ecosystems, fail to protect critical wildlife habitat, and violate our easement <br />rights to 4190 Little Turkey Creek Road. <br />Inserting a quarry into the existing residential areas of Red Rock Valley Estates, Eagles Nest, <br />Bauer's Ranch, Turkey Canon Ranch, and adjacent to Aiken Canon Nature Preserve will <br />negatively impact water wells. These wells likely depend upon a system of fractures within <br />the rock to recharge aquifers, while wells in the adjacent upturned sedimentary rocks may <br />depend upon both fractures and infiltration along the granite -sedimentary boundary for re- <br />charge. In 1996, the area experienced an earth quake aftershock. Several wells in the <br />community had drastic reduction in water production or had to be abandoned. <br />Studies have shown injecting a quarry into existing residential areas will have a detrimental <br />effect on property values. It will destroy a critical ecosystem that connects the mountains to <br />the plains, and essentially, it will destroy the very nature of why we have chosen to live in <br />this beautiful area. <br />Colorado Parks and Wildlife has identified the proposed quarry location as a primary elk <br />residence and migration area. The proposed quarry lies between a large concentration of elk <br />on Federal lands to the west and winter range on Fort Carson to the east. The proposed <br />quarry will have a very negative impact on elk survivability if eastern migration to winter <br />feeding grounds and western migration to spring calving grounds is disrupted. Please see <br />attached Elk Residence and Migration map. <br />