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C-46517 2063 B. Decision Factors I. Status The legal status of the lands affected is open public land, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. Land ownership in the vicinity is extremely fragmented, with numerous patented mining claims interspersed with adjacent public lands. In addition, as the Silverton area has never been surveyed under a rectangular survey system (instead, metes-and-bounds mineral surveys are referenced to mineral monuments), legal locations within this area can only be approximated. The applicant's representation of land ownership in the location of the subject R/W is therefore assumed to be correct, and is referred to for baseline information pertaining to this proposal. The proposed R/A lies within BLM grazing allotment No. 8902 which authorizes summer sheep grazing use by Mr. Emmett Elizondo. Thy: season of use currently runs from July 10 through September 30 +~f each year. In addition, unpatented mining claims probably exis+: on public lands in the vicinity. There are no other existing rights of record. No conflicts are anticipated with any of the rights or uses previously described if the Special Stipulations appended in Exhibit B are incorporated into the R/A grant. II. Planning Public land in the vicinity has been identified in the San JuanlSan Miguel Resource Management Plan (RMP) for livestock grazing and recreation management. The subject road provides access for these uses; in past summers, bands of sheep have been trailed up and down the road, and visitors to historic mining features, adjacent pro.~erty owners, and four-wheel drive enthusiasts have driven or hiked on the road. For safety reasons, the proposed road reconstruction and hauling by heavy ore trucks would periodically require closure o~`. portions of the road, which could affect these two predominant u:~es of the area. For this reason, the special stipulations include coordination with San Juan County, the grazing permittee, and they BLM regarding road closures. We anticipate that this coordination would limit conflicts. San Juan County has been working closely with both Sunnyside and the BLM to assure that the proposed project will not compromise county needs or concerns for the public safety.