Laserfiche WebLink
adequately irrigate 40 acres. Land ownership today is usually in 40 -acre parcels or multiples <br />thereof. Years of operations and management have resulted in most of the arable land that can be <br />reached by irrigation to be put into one form of agricultural production or another. This includes <br />the majority of First Park and a large portion of Second Park. Irrigation of potential farm lands <br />on Third Park, located across Coal Canyon north of Second Park has not been carried out <br />because of a lack of a water delivery system. The extension of the Colorado Cooperative Ditch <br />across Coal Canyon and onto Third Park would be prohibitive at this time in terms of <br />engineering, construction requirements, and cost (Mrs. Tom Garvey, personal communication, <br />June 1987). <br />The areas of deeper, more productive soils within the permit areas are used for alfalfa hay <br />production, crops such as annual grains and corn silage, and irrigated pasture. Some of the <br />irrigated pasture contains areas of shallow soils or rock ledges and outcrops at or near the surface <br />(see Peadbody-Tab 6, Geology and Peabody -Tab 7, Soils). This places restrictions on <br />management and production. Lands within the permit area are used for pasture rental, hay sales, <br />as a pasture or hay base, and support facilities for livestock run on adjacent private and Federal <br />ground during the spring, summer, and fall, or as hobby or retirement properties. The latter are <br />used to produce some hay or pasture for the few livestock owned by these operators. Farm <br />ground on the western portion of the permit area is used for production of grain, irrigated alfalfa <br />or corn silage, some of which may be sold as cash crops. Generally, these crops are fed back to <br />livestock run by the operator. Irrigated Cropland also occurs within the western portion of the <br />permit area. One abandoned orchard occurs within the permit area. Orchards established early <br />after the establishment of Nucla, were used principally for cash crop with a large portion of the <br />production going to the mining districts around Telluride. By the 1940s, the market demand was <br />gone and the orchards were abandoned (James Johnson, personal communication, May 1987). <br />These orchards are no longer managed and only local incidental use is made of them now. Some <br />of these orchards may, at least seasonally, be grazed along with adjacent irrigated pasture. <br />Property ownership for the permit area can be found in Section 2.03, (Legal, Financial, <br />Compliance and Related Information); vegetation and production information can be found in <br />Section 2.04. 10 (Vegetation Information). <br />Because of the proximity of the site to the town of Nucla, a small amount of residential use <br />(outside of the farmsteads) has occurred in the northeast and southeast portions of the permit <br />area. Five homesites occur in these areas and range from mobile homes to traditional <br />permanently located homes. Though residential would be one of the highest and best uses of the <br />land, the present status of the local economy probably precludes any significant residential <br />expansion in the area. <br />There has been limited underground mining activity within the permit area. In addition to the <br />reclaimed New Horizon 1 surface coal mine northwest of the mine area, three underground coal <br />June 2016 (TR -73) 2.04.3-10 <br />