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Description of the Environment <br />Site Description and Land Use -Rule 2.04.3 <br />The West Elk Mine is located approximately one mile east of the town of Somerset on Colorado <br />State Highway No. 133. The western permit boundary extends to the outer slopes of Jumbo <br />Mountain. With permit revision No. 11, the eastern permit boundary was extended into the <br />Raven Gulch and Deep Creek watersheds. The northern extremity of the permit area lies just <br />north of the North Fork of the Gunnison. The southern boundary of the permit area extends <br />south of Minnesota Reservoir into the drainage basins of Minnesota Creek, Dry Fork, Lick <br />Creek, and Poison Gulch. The Somerset Mine is located just northwest of the mine facilities, <br />the Bear III Mine lies adjacent to West Elk on the west, the Sanborn Creek Mine is south, on the <br />North side of the North Fork. <br />The mine is on the western flank of the West Elk Mountains in the drainage basin of the North <br />Fork of the Gunnison River. The climate is semi-arid. Topography is chazacterized by steeply <br />sloping mountains covered primarily with tall shrub vegetation, particularly Gambel oak and <br />Saskatoon servicebeny. The general area where the mine is located is currently used for grazing <br />domestic livestock (cattle and sheep) and wildlife (deer and elk). Recreational activities such as <br />big game hunting also occur here. <br />Slopes range from 0 to 60 percent on the permit area, and elevations range from 5,900 feet at <br />Somerset in the valley of the North Fork, to about 8,000 feet in the extreme southeast corner of <br />the permit area. <br />The steep slopes of the stream valleys and the instability of the rock strata in the North Fork <br />drainage basin have contributed to numerous landslides, mud flows and rock falls. These mass <br />wasting features have been mapped by W.R. Junge of the Colorado Geological Survey and <br />published as an open file report, entitled "Geologic Hazards, North Fork Gunnison River Valley, <br />Delta and Gunnison Counties, Colorado." <br />The primary land uses within the permit azea are characterized as rangeland and woodland <br />supporting big game (deer and elk) and livestock (cattle and sheep). Portions of the lease area <br />are within the boundaries of Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. <br />Cultural and Historic Resources -Rule 2.04.4 and 2.05.6(4) <br />Cultural and historic resources aze discussed in Section 2.04.4 of the permit document. Records <br />from the Historic Buildings and Sites file of the Colorado Historical Society and the <br />Archaeological Survey file of the Office of the State Archaeologist were reviewed for previously <br />recorded sites. No evidence was found indicating the existence of known sites in the vicinity of <br />the mine. An archaeological reconnaissance was also conducted. Field studies, laboratory <br />operations, and report preparation were completed by an archaeological team from Fort Lewis <br />College in Durango, Colorado. This report can be found in Exhibit 10 of the permit document. <br />No sites were found as a result of the field study. <br />26 <br />