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Pikeview QuaTTy -Decision Notice and FONSI 08/30/01 <br />Alternative B was selected for the following reasons. <br />• The visual-impact of the existing disturbed area will continue in perpetuity <br />unless the slopes are reduced and vegetation is established to reclaim the azea. <br />• The unstable, nearly vertical high wall on the northern two thirds of the mined <br />area will continue to cause problems unless it is laid back and restored. <br />Alternative A was not chosen because it would result m ongoing negative environmental <br />impacts and would not allow for the reclamation of the existing gravel pit. <br />Alternative C was not chosen because it would not adequately address correcting the <br />visual impact of the existing mined azea and it does not resolve the current slope <br />instability Aroblem. <br />ISSUES <br />All issues identified by the Forest Service during the scoping process were addressed in <br />the EA, an~ fotu of these issues were considered to be of major importance. These issues <br />are summalized below. <br />• Visual impacts -The historical mining activity in Pikeview quarry has created steep <br />unstable cut slopes in the decomposing Pikes Peak granite that aze. devoid of <br />vegetation. The Pikeview Quarry, and in particular its steep slopes, can be seen by <br />the adjacent communities and to the east of the quarry, as well as by the users of <br />Interstate 25. <br />The proposed action (Alternative B) calls for the reclamation of all of the disturbed <br />areas that are located on property owned by Castle Concrete and the U.S. Forest <br />Service. All of the existing vegetation would be removed on at least 13 acres of <br />Forest Service lands, topsoil stockpiled, and the existing steep slopes on private land <br />reduced by removing material at the top of the slope, raising the height of the mined <br />area above the current mine boundary. During the layback operations, the surface of <br />the mine site would be made up of raw material in the process of being broken up and <br />moved downhill to the screening and crushing plants. This impact would be most <br />noticeable while mining is under way, during reclamation, and for a period of about 5 <br />to 10 years while revegetated areas become established. <br />After mining is completed, the reclamation plan calls for the area to be graded to an <br />average slope of approximately 2:1 across the site with outcroppings. AU ofthe <br />disturbed area would be seeded with a mixture of plants designed to provide both <br />quick ground cover and long-term coverage. Taking into consideration the difference <br />in plant species density and composition to be used in the reclamation of National <br />Forest System lands and private lands, a difference in the visual appearance of the <br />reclaimed slopes is expected. Species composition will be closely monitored to <br />insure an esthetically pleasing appearance to the landscape. Potential migration of <br />non-native and/or noxious plant species from private land to public lands could <br />