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;~ :~ Pond A is an MSHA impoundment and its design met the approval of that regulatory authority on April 24, 1980 as well as that of the Plined Land Reclamation Division on July 17, 1981. (f) The size of the impoundment is adequate for its intended purposes; and This impoundment is more than adequately sized to be utilized for livestock and wildlife. The operator submitted calculations indicating that forage on 6000 acres of Cypress properties could support 6484 AUM's. Standard range management principles suggest that cattle will migrate only 0.5-1.0 mile for water and that there should be an average of 1 pond per section. Therefore, the vegetation around Pond A could probably support 692 AUMS, which would consume 0.57 ac. ft. of water. (g) The impoundment will be suitable for the approved post-mining land use. The suitability of retaining Pond A fora permanent impoundment can be evaluated from as many perspectives as there are uses. As a fishery, the pond has a 5' deep littoral bench ranging from 30'-200' around the pond's perimeter, but averaging 75' in width. This is a highly productive zone providing a strong ecosystem base. Approximately 35`< of the pond has a depth exceeding 13.5', providing adequate thermal protection for fish overwintering. The pond serves as habitat for ungulates, waterfowl, migratory birds, reptiles and amphibians. The technical revision application noted that 6-12 broods of ducks are raised on the pond each year and over 15 species of waterfowl use the pond. As component of a cattle operation, the pond is grossly oversized, as its waters would be unusable for irrigation. Livestock would probably consume less than an acre-foot of water/year. The benefits of keeping the pond and the surrounding area as wildlife habitat far exceed the unsuitability of the size of the impoundment for livestock watering. BIBLIOGRAPHY National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering. 1974. Water Quality Criteria. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1976. Quality Criteria for Water. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C, U. S. Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining. 1986. Planning and Management of Mine-Cut Lakes at Surface Coal Mines. OSM/TR-82/1. U. S. overnmen rin rng ice, .as ing on, . /vjr 3099E