GENERAL52234

• Permit No: C1981038
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 6/20/1985
• Doc Name: PROPOSED DECISION AND FINDINGS OF COMPLIANCE PR1
• Permit Index Doc Type: FINDINGS
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

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Cultural, historic, and archaeological studies have been conducted of the
permit area in April and May, 1977; August, 1980; August, 1981; July, 1982;
and May and September, 1984. No significant prehistoric or historic cultural
resources were encountered within the areas studied. Three abandoned coal
mines were found but were not considered significant finds. A total of 15
archaeological or historic sites have been identified within the permit area.
Eight of the sites will not be affected by the operation. Of the remaining
seven, four were determined to be ineligible for the National Register. The
final three sites are not predicted to be adversely affected by the operation.
The vegetation on the areas affected by the Orchard Valley Mine's surface
operations and facilities is characterized by pinyon-juniper stands, mixed
mountain shrublands, oakbrush shrublands, and orchard land at the rail loadout
facility along the North Fork. The pinyon-juniper type is the most extensive
vegetation type occuring in the affected area, covering 49.4 of the 72.2 total
affected acres. The mixed mountain shrub type occurs along the west side of
Steven's Gulch, where 7.3 acres have been disturbed by the mine timber storage
area. The oakbrush vegetation type occurs primarily to the north of the
affected area. The Orchard Valley Mine's rail loadout facilities have
affected 16 acres of orchard land. Adjacent orchards produce a variety of
fruits, including peaches, apricots, prunes, cherries, pears, and apples. The
climate of the region is typical of the Rocky Mountain area. The valley in
which Paonia is situated is semi-arid with annual precipitation averaging
about 15 inches per year. Mean annual precipitation increases with elevation,
reaching approximately 35 inches per year on the summit of Chalk Mountain.
The May-September precipitation is 5 inches for the lowlands and 13 inches for
the mountain peaks. This indicates that snowfall patterns play a important
part in determining the hydrology of the area.
The area is mountainous, with elevations ranging from 5,800 feet at Paonia to
11,150 feet at Chalk Mountain to the North on the Grand Mesa. Slopes range
from 0 to 60 percent on the permit area, and elevations range from about 5,700
feet at the loadout facilities area to approximately 8,700 feet at the
northern extremity of the permit area.
The CWI permit area is drained by East Roatcap Creek, West Roatcap Creek, Main
Roatcap Creek, Steven's Gulch, Coal Gulch, and Terror Creek; all of which are
tributaries to the North Fork of the Gunnison.
Terror Creek is a perennial stream with an aquatic community that includes
some trout. The stream has a high gradient channel with riparian vegetation
and alluvium confined to narrow bands along the channel.
Steven's Gulch, East Roatcap Creek, and Coal Gulch are intermittent to
ephemeral drainages that only flow part of the year. Localized deposits of
colluvial material reworked by fluvial processess are present within the
general area, primarily within the Steven's Gulch, West Fork Terror Creek, and
Roatcap Creek drainages. These deposits are generally 20 to 30 acres in size
and provide industrial (Steven's Gulch), domestic (Long Draw), and
agricultural (Morrell Cow Camp) water sources (page 39, Section 2.04.7 of
Volume lA). Several smaller occurrances of saturated alluvial/colluvial
deposits are associated with the streams in the permit areaa; however, none of
these is currently supporting agricultural use.