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DORRIS MINING OPERATION <br />ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA) <br />CHAPTER 1. PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION. <br />1.1 Introduction <br />This Environmental Assessment (EA) presents the em ironmental effects of mining activities proposed by the <br />mining operator in proposed Plans of Operation for the Glacier Peak, Crystal Jack and Colorado Calumet <br />mining operations, including 24 unpatented mining claims. From this point forward the word claim will <br />refer to an unpatented mining claim. The claims are located on the Pike National Forest in an area known as <br />Crystal Creek, near the towns of Florissant and Lake George in Park County and Teller Counties, Colorado. <br />1.2 Background and Histor <br />Crystal Creek Mining Area. The Crystal Creek mining area is a renowned source for a variety of locatable <br />minerals that are sold as specimens to mineral collectors and mineral dealers. Specimen quality crystals of <br />smoky quartz, amazonite, fluorite, goethite, hematite, atbite, macanite and microcline occur in small cavities <br />or pockets within quartz and pegmatite veins hosted by Precambrian-age Pikes Peak granite. Large or high <br />quality specimens from Crystal Creek are displayed in numerous museums around the nation, and in many <br />• ~ private and public collections. Miners continue to make crystal discoveries in the area. Even after a century <br />of mining, the Crystal Creek area is a world class producer of valuable locatable minerals. Discoveries have <br />been made recently, including the 2002 discovery of a four foot smoky quartz crystal on the Godsend claim. <br />The Crystal Creek mining area covers approximately 5,000 acres of surface area on the Pike National Forest <br />and surrounding private lands. Crystals mining in this area dates back to the 1300's. There is widespread <br />but largely unobtrusive evidence of historic hand and mechanized digging operations in the form of shallow <br />trenches, open dig sites, and spoil piles. Many old dig sites have naturally revegetated over time. <br />It is estimated that 100 or more claims currently exist in the azea, and new claims are staked every year. <br />Likewise, some existing claims expire each year because the claimants do not reapply. The large majority of <br />claimants are small operators who use hand tools to prospect on summer weekends. Most operations involve <br />hand tools with a surface disturbance of less than 1,000 (10 by 100) square feet. <br />Glacier Peak, Crystal Jack and Colorado Calumet Mining Operations. The operator has been operating <br />under approved Plans of Operations for Glacier Peak and Crystal Jack mining operations since 1993 and <br />2001, respectively. This is the first time a proposed Plan of Operations was submitted for the Colorado <br />Calumet mining operation. A history of the Forest Sen ice administration of these operations is found in the <br />project file. <br />The operator currently has a $6,905 reclamation bond with Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (CO <br />DMG) for the Glacier Peak mining operation and $6,600 reclamation bond with the Forest Service for the <br />Crystal Jack mining operation. There is no existing reclamation bond for Colorado Calumet mining <br />~~ peration. <br />Page t of49 <br />