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West Elk Mine <br />~. Gunnison National Forest lands within and adjacent to the mine fall into three land use categories; <br />rangeland, wildlife habitat, and recreation. Rangelands managed for livestock grazing <br />(management unit 6B) aze found east of Minnesota Creek and north of Gunnison Creek to the forest <br />boundary. Recreation lands aze found southeast of Gunnison Creek within the West Elk <br />Wilderness Area and aze managed to enhance and emphasize "primitive recreation opportunities <br />requiring a high degree of isolation" (USFS, 1991). In the forest azea southwest of Minnesota <br />Creek, the Forest Service has designated the area wildlife habitat, and prescribed the management <br />emphasis on maintaining winter range for ungulate wildlife. <br />Interspersed with BLM and Gunnison National Forest lands on the western flank of the permit azea <br />are many private land holdings. The predominant use of the private lands is for range and livestock <br />grazing. Several limited agricultural areas aze found along Minnesota Creek and to the southwest <br />of Lion Mesa. <br />To the northwest and north of the permit azea, land uses are mixed and include residen- <br />tial/commercial (within the town of Somerset and adjacent areas), commercial (Sanborn Creek <br />Mine, Beaz Mine), and rangeland predominantly north of the North Fork of the Gunnison River. <br />Surrounding Area Land Uses -Gunnison and Delta Counties <br />Urban land accounts for less than one percent of Gunnison Count}' and approximately two percent <br />in Delta County (SCS, 1973). Aside from the small, unincorporated town of Somerset, which is <br />• located in Gunnison County on the northern edge of the study area, the urban lands closest to the <br />permit area are the towns of Paonia and Hotchkiss, both in Delta County. They are located <br />approximately 9 and 17 air miles respectively, southwest of Somerset on the North Fork of the <br />Gunnison River. <br />While agriculture is of limited azeal importance in Gunnison County as a whole, it is of greater <br />importance in Delta County, especially in the central portion. Only 5.4 percent of the lands in the <br />North Fork Subbasin of the Gunnison River Basin is used for crops (Economic Research Service, et <br />al, 1962); however, agriculture is an important factor in the economics of the region. In 1964, 45.6 <br />percent of the land in Delta County and 10.3 percent of the land in Gunnison County were in <br />farmlands. In Delta County in 1964, 24 percent of the farmland was irrigated and 60.6 percent of <br />that land had crops harvested from it. Irrigated croplands extend up the valley of the North Fork of <br />the Gunnison River in Delta County to the confluence of Hubbazd~Creek and the North Fork of the <br />Gunnison River. In Gunnison County in 1964, 23.4 percent of the; farmland was irrigated and 66.6 <br />percent of that land had crops harvested from it. <br />2.04.4 Cultural and Historical Resource Information <br />Significant Cultural and Historic Resources <br />There are no known cultural and historic resources within the West Elk Mine permit area listed or <br />eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. There are no known significant <br />azchaeological sites existing on any azeas proposed or likely to be affected by coal mine <br />• development, extraction or subsidence over the life of the mine in this area. <br />2.04-6 1/94 PROS; 12/94 TR74; Revised Jun. 1995 PR06 <br />