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M <br />MINE ID ~ OR PROSPECTING ID ~ <br />INSPECTION DATB 7 10 95 <br />(Page 2) <br />M-88-044 <br />INSPECTOR'S INITIALS APH <br />The Division conducted an inspection of the Bite on 7/10/95 at the request of the State Land <br />Board. The site is located along Coal Creek just south of E. Quincy Ave. Present during the <br />inspection were Gary Tuttle of Triad Western, the permitting contact, Nark Davie of the State <br />Land Board, and Gregg Squire and Andy Moore, Division staff. The site ie leased from the <br />State Land Board. The operation has involved excavating sand out of the creek bottom. Triad <br />Western wants to mine in two more areas: up on the ridge to the east, and in the valley <br />bottom at the site's upstream end. Reclamation, which mainly consists of regrading, <br />topsoiling, and revegetation, has been done in some areas and ie ongoing in others. <br />Concerns abour_ the site in the past have included minimizing the lose of old cottonwood trees <br />along the valley bottom, controlling the leafy spurge at the site, and preventing cattle <br />grazing on reclaimed areas. The National Biological Survey has been doing research at the <br />site regarding the effects on the cottonwoods of a rapidly drawn down water table. The State <br />Land Hoard has been involved in efforts to control the leafy spurge, including spraying, <br />without much tiucceee. The cattle grazing ie due to one of the other lessees of the property. <br />We looked fix•et at a reclaimed area. An electrified fence ie in place to protect the <br />reseeded area from grazing cattle. The grading looks good, but the area needs to be reseeded <br />in the fall. Near the area of the deepest mining, a couple areas of dead cottonwoods were <br />noted. The operator estimates that, for hie permit, he ie still within the allowable amount <br />of tree lose, which ie 17 percent. Young cottonwoods were observed in several areas. A <br />desirable management program would continue to protect these areas from grazing. Next we <br />looked at a fenced area of wetland that has been created by the operator. It looked very <br />good with a wide variety of healthy vegetation. A neighboring reclaimed area on a aide elope <br />looked OK, but. the vegetation has not taken well; it also needs to be reseeded in the fall. <br />The new area ghat the operator would like to mine along the creek bottom contains about 60 <br />acres. The mining in this area avoids moat of the nearby cottonwoods. The operator ie <br />willing to mine in accordance with suggestions by~the National Biological Survey to avoid <br />impacting the trees. This mainly entails mining no lower than eight feet below the base of <br />the trees and not lowering the groundwater table more than two feet. This area ie full of <br />leafy spurge. One idea for weed control discussed involves applying a broad spectrum <br />herbicide to the site prior to mining. After a certain length of time, the area would then <br />be stripped in preparation for mining. For this Bite, the operator has a lease for three <br />more years. He would like to get a new lease for ten years. <br />The other proposed area for mining ie on the ridge to the east. It ie over a hundred feet <br />above the creek bottom. No impacts are anticipated to the groundwater and hence to the <br />cottonwoods. There appears to be several feet of topsoil in this area. The Division would <br />like to see all of this saved for reclamation. <br />We looked last at a reclaimed area at the downstream end of the mining to see an example of <br />the blending of a mined area with an undisturbed area. There was a small amount of standing <br />water in the di,eturbed area; the sand was damp just downstream, eventually changing to a dry <br />bottom. This blending ie of concern because the proposed site at the upstream end of the <br />site would require blending at both its upstream and downstream ends. Gregg Squire commented <br />that he would like to see different seed mixes for the new sites: one for the upland area <br />and one for the bottomland. The inspection was completed at noon. <br />I & E Contact iaddrees <br />NAME Gary Tuttle <br />OPERATOR Triacl Western Corn. <br />STREET 1199() Grant St.. Ste. 410 <br />CITY/STATE/ZIP Denver, CO 80233 <br />cc: Carl Mount <br />Gregg Squire <br />Mark Davie (CL)([q,/p C21PD~ <br />^ CE // <br />^ BL <br />^ FS <br />^ HW <br />^ HMWMD (CH) <br />^ SE <br />^ WQCD (CH) <br />^ OTHER <br />