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conducted by surface methods. Between 1980 and 1989 Castle Concrete expanded the permitted area from 30 acres to 80 acres. Approximately 30 acres remains disturbed today. The quarry currently is not being mined, but Castle Concrete plans to mine it in the future. The efforts of the MRAC process prompted Castle Concrete to make further modifications to its reclamation plan th 1994 to achieve the enhanced reclamation objectives once it recommences operations. The site is located at the head of a side canyon to Black Canyon. The site faces southeast and is high on the valley wall. The vegetation on the site is generally forest with scattered aeeas of shrub and grasses. The site tends to have more moisture than Pikeview and Queens Canyon as evidenced by the domination of cool season plant species and the overall success of the vegetation. Because Snyder Quarry is not being mined and future mining is anticipated, there has been limited work performed at the site. Castle Concrete constnrcted a visual berm in 1984 and between 1996 and 1998 additional trees and wildflowers were planted on the berm by CMRF volunteers.. This included approximately 850 trees planted on the berm, a back wall and the road. The Snyder Quany Visual Impact Issue Snyder Quarry is not nearly as visible as aze the Queens Canyon and Pikeview quames. A portion of the quarry is potentially visible from the city and valley to the southeast and it is visible from some of the homes that have been built in the area. Before Castle Concrete modified its reclamation plans for Snyder Quany, as discussed below, there was concern that portions of the quarry would become more visible as the operation expanded. Recommendation of the Mining Reclamation Advisory Committee The visual berm was recognized by MRAC as a successful effort to hide the quarry disturbance as viewed from Highway 24, from the road leading to the quarry and from some locations in the valley. The MRAC plan encouraged continued management of the berm and planting additional vegetation to improve the results on some areas of the berm. The principle recommendation of the MRAC enhanced reclamation plan for the aeeas to be mined in the future is to adopt an intense revegetation plan that will create greater density and diversity on the reclaimed areas than approved in the reclamation permit. The enhanced reclamation plan describes in detail how the soils are to be managed and how trees and shrubs are to be placed on the mine benches. Snyder Reclamation Activity and Results Mine Plan Modifications After the MRAC report was completed, Castle Concrete voluntarily removed approximately 10 acres from its mine plan and re-sequenced the order in which the remaining land will be mined. The modification increased the depth of the mine, which will be less visible and will offset the loss of reserve from the removal of the 10 acres. The result is that a highly visible area will not be mined and the re-sequencing will allow for more concurrent reclamation. This will enable (16)