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destructive and could have negative impacts on drainage. The best course of action would be to create a berm at road level, preventing more rubble from falling into the canyon. The rubble that is already there should be left as is, for reclamation by Mother Nature. Periodic monitoring can assess whether additional remedial action is required. Visual Issues Visual impacts of a quarrying operation in Steamboat Valley are difficult to mitigate. Since tree cover in the Valley is sparse, vegetation screening at or near the property is insignificant. Furthermore, the quarry is located close to a population center, increasing the visual scrutiny. On the other hand, visual evidence of past and present quarrying is abundant. Fairness requires some method to assess the visual impacts of expansion, but concede that existing areas have a history of disturbance. The "Sprague Property Visibility. Map" (with the visibility overlay) depicts the regions which have views of the property and the amount of acreage seen. The maximum area of the property visible from any single location rs about 15 acres. The base map shows the Town of Lyons incorporated boundary, together with major public land ownership th the region. To aid in estimating visual impacts for varying locales, distance circles have been added. It should be noted that screening from close-in trees or buildings was not considered in creating this visibility map. This may be referred to as a "bare ground" model. The "Visual Census" map shows a census or count of the surrounding acreage that has views of that portion of the property. For example, over 5000 acres of surrounding land has views of the extreme NE comer of the property. This provides a quantitative illustration of the visibility (and subsequent visual impact if quarried) of a portion of the property. Suggested Quarry Boundary The "Visibility Census" map also shows a suggested quarry boundary. As stated earlier, the high demand for flagstone and the historical quarrying legacy suggest that some expansion is warranted. On the other hand, environmental and phyical constraints on the property require that the expansion be contained within the portion of the property most suited to the operation. The suggested boundary is an attempt to Erna a compromise solution that allows but limits expansion. The suggested quarry area is approximately 25 acres - 2.5 times the currently permitted area. Rationale for this boundary is summarized in the following section. Recommendations • Keep quarrying and new debris out of Eagle Canyon. • Stay off highly visible steep slopes to east. • Keep minimum 200 foot buffer from proposed building site in south (Shanahan property). • Permit expansion to suggested quarry boundary. Best regards, / j~1 ~~~~ d-J~ Ed Russell 770 Steamboat Valley Road P.O. Box 994 Lyons, CO 80540 Home: (303) 823-6194 Work: (303)444-1670 erussell®ctmap.com