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-12- I2. Land Use - Rules 2.04.3, 2.05.5 and 4.16 Pre-mining Land use in the 19-acre surface disturbance area associated with the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 portals and surface facilities and the 8-acre Bear No. 3 mine, as well as the adjacent areas, was primarily wildlife habitat. Small areas designated as cropland are located along the North Fork at the mouth of Sylvester Gulch, immediately to the east of the Bear No. 1 portal area and below the mouth of Gribble Gulch approximately I'~ river miles below the town of Somerset. A Land use map is provided as Map No. 8 in the application revision. Pre-mining land uses are discussed on pages 23-28 of the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 application and 2.04.2-2.04.6 of the Bear No. 3 application. Post-mining land use is discussed on pages 76-78 of the first application and pages 2.05.45-2.05.96 of the second application. Operations conducted-by-Bear Coa3--Company-at-the Bear-No- 3 porta3-began in 1934 and have been continuous since that time. The portal and haul road for the Bear No. 2 were constructed in 1980.- blining-activity also began in 1934 at the proposed Bear No. 3 Fnrtal(the old Edwards portal). This mine was operated by various owners -unti3-it-was-closed in 1-96GTwo-vacant-houses-and-several small storage sheds are located on the proposed surface facility site. The houses will be used as office space by Aear Coal Company - The proposed post-mining land use for the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 facilities area is wildlife habitat. The land affected by the Bear No. 3 portal and surface facilities area will be returned to its present use - undeveloped land providing wildlife habitat and limited residential use. There was some confusion with respect to the details of the reclamation plan and the proposed post-mining use for the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 portals and facilities area. The applicant had indicated that portions of the disturbed area "might be retained for a future industrial site" and that ARCO, the surface owner, "may want to retain surface facilities of the Bear Mine". In the adequacy letter of January 18, 1982, the Division stated that Bear Coal Company would be responsible for temporary vegetative stabilization of the area to be occupied by ARCO's freshwater pond and that if any areas other than the proposed freshwater pond would not be reclaimed to wildlife habitat as described in the application, those areas would have to be specified and indicated on the post-mining land use map. In the applicant's response to that letter, received by the Division on February 28, 1982, Bear Coal Company committed to completely reclaim all surface facilities at the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 mines, with the exception of the areas which fall within the Highway Department's right-of-way. Permanent reclamation would include the area of the proposed ARCO freshwater pond, since it has not been established when or if that pond will be constructed. The applicant's proposal to return the land to the pre-mining land uses of wildlife habitat and, in the case of the No. 3 portal and facilities area, to return the land to undeveloped land supporting limited wildlife and residential use, is acceptable to the Division. This land use is consistent and compatible with adjacent land uses. The surface landowners, ARCO, U.S. Steel, Anchor Coal Company, and the Highway Department, have provided written approval of the post-mining land use. Pursuant to Rule 2.07.6(2)(1), the post-mining land uses of wildlife habitat and un- developed Land are hereby approved by the Division. These uses meet the requirements of Rule 4.I6.