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Historic and current land uses within the Nucla Mine permit area are cropland, <br />rangeland, and mining. The cropland was previously irrigated with water from <br />the Colorado Cooperative Ditch. These areas have since been abandoned and are <br />in poor condition. Land uses adjacent to the Nucla Mine permit area are <br />irrigated cropland, rangeland, previously mined areas, and a sanitary landfill <br />operated by both San Miguel and Montrose Counties. <br />Areas affected at the Nuc1a Mine will be reclaimed to either dryland pasture <br />or rangeland. Comments received in 1976 from area residents requested that <br />the abandoned cropland areas be returned to cropland. Peabody has elected to <br />reclaim these areas to dryland pasture with the capability of being irrigated, <br />even though Peabody will not irrigate this acreage. The area to be reclaimed <br />to dryland pasture is located in the S 1/2 5W 1/4 Section 25, T47N, R16W. The <br />dryland pasture type replaces the abandoned cropland to restore the grazing <br />potential of the land. This land use is compatible with adjacent land uses <br />and will restore the land to a higher or better use than pre-mining <br />conditions. The Division approves the proposed post-mining land uses as being <br />compatible with the requirements of Rule 4.16. <br />The operation is in compliance with the requirements of this section. <br />III. Cultural and Historic Resources - Rules 2.04.4 and 2.05.6(4) <br />Information pertaining to cultural and historic resources can be found in <br />Volume 1, Tab 5 of the permit application. <br />Cultural resource investigations were conducted by Western Cultural Resources <br />Management, Inc., (Western) in 1979 and by Nickens and Associates (Nickens) in <br />1986, The 1979 investigation was for the original permit application <br />submitted in April, 1980 and approved in May, 1983. The 1986 investigation <br />was for areas within the permit area not previously inventoried which will now <br />be disturbed. These areas are included within the Permit Revision No. 1 <br />application. <br />Peabody contracted with Western to conduct an intensive inventory of the areas <br />proposed to be affected by mining operations. This survey entailed both a <br />literature review and a 100 pedestrian survey of approximately 100 acres (50 <br />acres previously permitted under interim permit 75-36 and 50 new acres). Two <br />aboriginal open campsites were located and recorded during the site survey <br />within the permit area. Neither site was recommended for eligibility to the <br />National Register of Historic Places. <br />As addressed in Section XV - Operations Description, Peabody is proposing to <br />mine some areas within the permit area previously not surveyed. To correct <br />this situation, Peabody contracted within Nickens to survey approximately 70 <br />undisturbed acres within proposed Mine Areas 2 and 3. This survey consisted <br />of a site records search, a vehicular reconnaissance, and a pedestrian <br />survey. Twelve cultural resource localities were located and recorded within <br />the permit area: two were prehistoric sites containing four or more <br />artifacts; and ten were prehistoric isolated finds containing three or less <br />artifacts. None of these sites were recommended for eligibility to the <br />National Register of Historic Places. <br />-9- <br />