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SOILS INFORMATION <br />Exhibit I -AMENDMENT <br />Soils Information <br />Two primary soil types are found on this land, but the most cornmon is the Truckton sandy loam. This <br />soil is frequently associated with sand and some gravel deposits throughout the Elbert, Douglas, and western <br />Arapahoe county areas. Mixed with this soil is the Bresser sandy loam. For purposes of soil salvage, these two <br />soils need not be distinguished as they are quite similar in most respects. The Truckton is most commonly <br />found on the slopes and the Bresser in the bottoms of hollows and along shallow, highly ephemeral drainages. <br />The Bresser can exhibit slightly more clay content than the Truckton. <br />Both soils are quite permeable allowing water to seep in rapidly. However, the colloidal content is <br />high enough to produce fairly rich vegetation growth with a tendency toward favoring the more drought <br />resistant species such as blue grama, needle and thread, and little bluestem. Western wheatgrass, although it is <br />found on these soils, tends to not do as well due to the soil being somewhat toward the dry end of its tolerance <br />curve. <br />The use of this soil for reclamation of mined areas is favorable. Provided slopes are not too steep the <br />soil tends to exhibit only moderate erosion. Slopes in excess of 3:1 though should be avoided as rilling and <br />gullying can occur. Use of the soil on slopes and level Bound for alfalfa gowth should be favorable as alfalfa <br />has a deep root system capable of reaching the moisture that rapidly infiltrates into the soil. Furthermore, the <br />alfalfa tends to enrich these soils eventually converting them into a more fertile and somewhat heavier soil <br />with a higher organic content. However, once established into alfalfa for a long time, conversion back to the <br />original less fertile and porous soil can be difficult without first going through a prolonged period of <br />troublesome weed growth that consumes the nitrogen so species with lower nitrogen requirements can live in <br />the soil. So, conversion of these soils to predominantly alfalfa should be done with a view toward that change <br />being more or less permanent or very long term. <br />Salvage depth of these soils is difficult to determine as horizon development, except for the A horizon, <br />is slow and ill-defined. As a rule, the entire soil profile can be used as soil, but of course the A horizon is [he <br />preferred topsoil component. In the reclamation plan proposed here where alfalfa is primarily to be planted, <br />salvage and differentiation of the horizons is of little importance because once the alfalfa is established the <br />soil will undergo a slow but dramatic change to a rather different form. Therefore, if desired, all material <br />above the sand to be mined can be saved as soil. Or only a portion. But at least 6 inches should be salvaged for <br />use as a growth medium and the more the better. <br />Miller Gravel Pit Amendment (2007) Exhibit 1 Page 1 of 1 <br />