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i <br />A <br />B <br />CHAPTER III <br />THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT <br />General Setting <br />aspen and juniper. <br />Vegetation of the area is comprised mostly of sagebrush and <br />mountain shrub vegetation types, with some small pockets of <br />The Colowyo Mine is located about 28 miles southwest of <br />Craig, Colorado in Moffat County, Colorado. The proposed <br />amendment area lies to the south of the adjoining previously <br />approved permit area. The topography of the proposed <br />amendment area consists of gently sloping ridgetops, with <br />steep north and east-facing slopes along Goodspring Creek. <br />Critical Elements <br />1. Cultural, paleontological, or historic resource values <br />Cultural resource inventories within the proposed amendment <br />area have revealed six historical sites and three <br />archeological sites. Four of the historical sites consist <br />of cane and bottles, possibly associated with sheepherder <br />camps. The remaining two historical sites are related to an <br />abandoned coal mine and a collapsed windmill. Two of the <br />archeological sites contain portions of projectile points, <br />and the third contains a lithic scatter of white chert <br />flakes. <br />2. Water supply and quality values <br />The proposed amendment area is drained b <br />streams; Goodspring Creek to the east <br />the west. The water in these streams <br />with calcium and magnesium comprising <br />cations, and bicarbonate and sulfate <br />an <br />is <br />the <br />the <br />y two perennial <br />d Wilson Creek to <br />extremely hard, <br />majority of the <br />major anions. <br />Groundwater in the proposed amendment area occurs under <br />perched conditions in interbedded and lenticular sandstone <br />layers above the coal zone. No regional groundwater system <br />is present above the coal zone, and there is no known <br />connection between groundwater above the mine site and <br />surface water in Goodspring and Wilson Creeks. Groundwater <br />quality is poor, with high amounts of dissolved salts and <br />calcium-carbonate hardness. <br />Wetland values <br />A small amount of riparian vegetation occurs along <br />Goodspring and Taylor Creeks, but these areas will not be <br />affected by mining operations. <br />