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<br />Also, there is a ridge of raw material dividing the Parkerson Gravel Pit and Mesa County Pit. During our <br />discussion with Mr. Parkerson it was mutually agreed that during his mining activities later this year he will <br />remove the ridge. This will notably improve the overall appearance of the hillside and benefit reclamation. <br />Lumsden Canyon Pit. Permit No. M-83-216 <br />No future mining activity is planned at this pit. I inspected this piton April 16, 1998 and observed the erosion <br />you noted. Boundary markers were placed on April 16, 1998 and approximate the affected lands boundary <br />shown on the revised plat sent to you last week. These markers are steel posts, the tops of which are painted <br />white. Several photos are enclosed as proof of the markers. Once we have completed topsoil recovery and <br />contoured the A.2 Road Pit we will move to the Lumsden Canyon Pit and regrade those areas that are eroding. <br />In order to reduce future erosion we will terrace the slopes deeper. It is our intent to have this work completed <br />before autumn this year, at which time the contoured slopes will be seeded in accordance with our revised <br />reclamation plan as approved by ttie BLM. <br />Wright Draw pit Permit No. M-83-215 <br />The required boundary markers were placed January 21,1998, on a line approximating the affected lands <br />boundary. These markers are steel posts, the tops of which are painted white. I visually inspected the piton <br />April 16, 1998 and the markers were still in place. Several photos are enclosed as proof of the markers. This <br />pit is the only active pit Mesa County mines. However, we are seriously considering other alternative sources <br />for material and may close this pit in the near future. <br />A 2 Road pit Permit No. M-83-21f) <br />This pit is in cessation and there is no mining activity planned by Mesa County in the future. Reclamation work <br />began on this piton April 13, 1998. Our plan is to recover as much topsoil as possible from the perimeter of <br />the pit without exceeding the boundaries of the permitted area. This topsoil was simply pushed away from the <br />underlying gravel deposits and not confined to asingle-source stockpile. From the inception of the pit to date, <br />many trees and other vegetation hr3ve grown where the topsoil was placed, making the retrieval process <br />somewhat complicated and time consuming. Once recovered, we will stockpile the topsoil near the rocky slope <br />on the south, then spread it over the pit. The boulder pile on the west end of the pit will be relocated near the <br />road on the pit floor. These boulders will be used for erosion control at a nearby project. <br />The smaller, separate portion of this pit (#1) will also be contoured and prepared for seeding during the same <br />period that reclamation work is done on the larger portion of the pit. Minor contour work is necessary in this <br />area. <br />Something that I believe we all lose sight of from time to time is the fact that we are working with limited <br />resources and, certainly, limited funding. As mentioned previously, Mesa County has discontinued mining <br />operations at many locations. We recognize that our mindset must be different from that of our predecessors. <br />To that end we are committed to address and rectify the problems created by poor mining practices and <br />absence of reclamation in the past. It is our goal to totally cease gravel mining, perhaps by the end of the <br />century. <br />While there are several active gravf;l pits owned and operated by Mesa County, we have ceased mining <br />operations in all but one pit, Wright Draw. We are currently using previously stockpiled aggregate material <br />from several different pits for road rnaintenance and construction. As the processed material is exhausted we <br />Page 2 of 3 <br />