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<br />Ms. Lemay <br />November 12, 1997 <br />Page Three <br />• <br />- The land to the south, east and north of these 158.18 acres has always <br />been either rangeland or residential, and has never hosted industrial or <br />mining operations. More than twenty yeazs ago, two other gravel pit <br />operations existed adjacent to the western border of the proposed Stone <br />Gravel Pit. Neither received any reclamation efforts and today they host <br />noxious weeds and litter. <br />- The land in question contains a fire road to access the Sleeping Ute <br />Mountain. The proposed gravel pit area also has traditional agricultural <br />and ceremonial uses by the Ute Mountain Ute tribe. <br />- Since this is public land, administered by the Bureau of Land Management, <br />it receives a considerable amount of recreational use, including hiking, <br />birdwatching and horseback riding. In addition, the Montezuma County <br />schools use this land to conduct invitational cross-country meets by high <br />school teams of this region. <br />- The land is also used seasonally for cattle stock grazing under BLM permit. <br />It is also a winter hunting ground for Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Great <br />Horned Owls and other raptors. <br />Incomplete Description of Activities: <br />- Fugitive Dust. In the Reclamation Application, there is no plan for control <br />of "fugitive dust," or a stated fugitive dust monitoring system. Without such <br />a plan in place, particulate matter, in the form of fugitive dust, will escape <br />beyond the property line or boundaries of this property. This represents an <br />unacceptable, long-term health hazazd to our community. We have several <br />neighbors with small children who will be exposed to this pollution. We <br />also have a neighbor whose mother is a victim of lung cancer and she has <br />recently moved here from a city to escape airborne pollution. <br />- Acreage to be mined. There is no plan submitted that tells how much <br />acreage will be mined at a time. The public uses this public land and we <br />believe Mr. Stone should not be allowed to fence all 160 acres at one time. <br />What segments of land does Mr. Stone plan to fence, and therefore render <br />inaccessible to the public, at any given time? What kind of fencing will be <br />used? Will fencing include berms and other devices that will shield the <br />strip mine from public view and help deaden the noise pollution? <br />