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acknowledges that since the current Montrose County land use classification of "General <br />Agricultural District A" does not distinguish between irrigated and dryland pasture land uses, the <br />conversion of Irrigated Pasture/Cropland to Dryland Pasture will be consistent with adjacent land <br />use patterns and trends as well as the policies of Montrose County. Conversion of Irrigated <br />Pasture/Cropland areas to Dryland Pasture will not present an actual or probable hazard to public <br />health or safety, nor will it result in an actual or probable threat of water flow diminution or <br />pollution contrary to any state or federal laws, policies or regulations. Such a conversion will not <br />alter or result in any unreasonable delays in reclamation and will not have adverse impacts on <br />fish, wildlife, related environmental values, or any of the habitats associated with threatened or <br />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/Cropland land uses to similar land uses "would require continuous <br />maintenance" and "sufficient water" both of which the landowner on the ERMR-Meehan <br />property is unable to provide. Since they are unable to provide these inputs, it is impossible for <br />NHN to reclaim these disturbed lands to their current land uses. NHN believes the reclamation <br />of these current Irrigated Pasture/Cropland land use areas to Dryland Pasture is consistent with <br />Rule 4.16.1, which require that the lands disturbed by mining be reclaimed "to conditions that <br />are capable of supporting the uses which they are capable of supporting before any mining" or <br />"to higher or better uses ..." Given the absence of water it is impossible to reclaim these lands to <br />their pre -disturbance capability. It is important to point out that reclamation of these lands to <br />Dryland Pasture is not as described by the Dryland Pasture vegetation and land use type which is <br />currently producing an average of 348.6 pounds of air-dry forage per acre but instead will be <br />similar to that associated with the Dryland Pasture reclamation found on the Rice Tract, where <br />the vegetation baseline studies described in Section 2.04.10 document an average of 845.0 <br />pounds of air-dry forage is currently being produced. NHN acknowledges this forage production <br />level is less than the current average of 3,285.3 pounds of air-dry forage per acre being produced <br />on the Irrigated Pasture/Cropland vegetation type and land use type, but this is not a realistic goal <br />since water is not available on all of these areas. <br />Section 2.05.5 Page 4 March 2018 (TR -16) <br />