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09i19~oo TLiE 1x:50 Fd% 970211518 pllnerals 8 Geolog~~ G Jct ,- X002 <br />_ • • III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII <br />999 <br />STATE OF CO~,Of~>JC~ <br />DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY <br />Department of NaN21 Resources ' <br />1313 Sherman $[„ Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 o I v I S 1 0 N O F <br />vfione: (3031 866-3587 MINERAL 5 <br />FAX: (103) 832-8106 &. <br />GEOLOGY <br />RECLA NATION <br />DATE: June 26, 1999 NI NING•SAfETY <br />TO: Janet BitVls Bill Owens <br />Governor <br />~ I Croy, E. Watcher <br />FROM: Dan Mathews / 't',/ Eaccutiv<Directar <br />Michael tl. ronR <br />Division Direnor <br />RE: New Horizon Mute Expansion Vegetation/Land Use <br />Per your request, I toured the New Horizon Mine proposed western expansion area, with the <br />operator's vegetation/land use/soils consultant, Tim Irvine, on June lg, 1999. Initially, I had <br />thought I would be observing baseline vegetation sampling, but as the date approached it became <br />clear that the operator and consultant were not yet prepared to initiate sampling. As you are <br />aware, we never received a detailed sampling proposal, although the operator (through their <br />consultant, Greg Lewicld, and his contractor, Jim Lvine) had more or less agreed to comply with <br />baseline methodologies outlined in the current permit. They had questioned the need for <br />collection of cover and production data from irrigated pasturelands, due to the high variability in <br />management practices and resultant productivity among pastures owned by different individuals, <br />and due to the fact that technical standards for cover and production of imgated pasture had been <br />previously established for the current permit area. <br />Jim Irvine and I toured the proposed expansion azea, and in addition we visited the existing <br />sagebrush reference area and an area west of the Nucla airport which had been subject to <br />sagebrush eradication at some point in the past, and planted with introduced pas[we grasses. This <br />site is apparently BLM land, artd is being considered by the operator for use as a dry pasture <br />reference azea. Within the mine expansion area, we stopped the vehicle in two locations, and <br />walked areas not easily accessible by vehicle. The locations where we stopped are denoted as <br />"Site 1"and "Site 2", on the premine veg/landuse map-photo, enclosed. <br />The focus of our observations was irrigated pastureland and irrigated hayland, since the operator <br />is proposing to reclaim the major portion of the reclaimed area to these land uses. Small areas on <br />the reclaimed landscape which cannot be irrigated due to topography or sprinkler system layout <br />would be reclaimed to dry pastureland. No attempt would be made to reclaim to rangeland <br />(several scattered big sagebrush pazcels occur on the area) or to reestablish wetland species in the <br />incidentally irrigated Swale features. <br />Our 5rst stop was an imgated pasture site in the eastern portion of the expansion area ("Site 1 "). <br />This site was characterized by moderately productive pastureland, but vegetation was quite <br />patchy, with uneven topography and low spots dominated by species of sedge and rush, higher <br />