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southern end of the road might be visible from some viewpoints in the residentiaUrural <br />areas to the south and east. No part of the amended area will be visible from County <br />Road #51 but the existing haul road turnoff from County Road #51 and existing stockpile <br />area at the base of the haul road will remain visible. As in the case of the existing <br />operation, no portion of the amended area will be visible from I-70 due to intervening <br />landforms. <br />Visual resources were evaluated as part of the BLM EA. The overall scenic <br />quality of the area is rated as Class B. Visual Resource Management (VRM) is under <br />Class III on the steep, highly exposed slopes paralleling I-70 on the north side and VRM <br />Class N on the slopes where the amended area is located. The objectives for VRM Class <br />III are to partially retain the existing character of the landscape to the point where <br />activities may attract attention but not dominate the view. VRM Class N objectives <br />provide for activities which require major modification of the existing chazacter of the <br />landscape with attempts to minimize visual impacts. The sequentially mined areas in the <br />amended area will expose light colored material of moderate visual contrast but visual <br />impacts will be consistent with VRM Class N objectives. The EA concluded that VRM <br />Class III and Class IV objectives are met within the scope of this project. <br />In efforts to further mitigate and minimize visual impact and disturbance, the <br />mining plan is specifically designed with the sequential back filling and concurrent <br />reclamation concept described above. Extraction of the ore deposit in separate stages will <br />create disturbance and visual impact in one extraction area and one reclamation/backfill <br />azea at any given time. The orientation of mining sequence will be mostly westerly and <br />this will also mitigate visual impact from the southern and eastern viewpoints. Final <br />reclamation will fully mitigate all affected areas and visual impact. <br />The portion of Eagle County Road #51 utilized as a haul road is currently posted <br />with speed limit signs and truck traffic warning signs. There is limited public use of this <br />road but company truck drivers maintain constant radio contact and alert each other to <br />public travel. The entrance to the mine haul road that intersects County Road #51 is <br />posted with a sign that reads: "Danger. Mining Operations. Road and Mine Facilities Are <br />Closed to Public Use". This sign has been posted under authority granted by the Bureau <br />of Land Management. <br />Minimization of Environmental Impacts <br />The amended operation will essentially be an extension of current operations. <br />Emissions from haul road traffic will continue to be addressed with dust suppressant <br />treatment and/or water spray. The sequential mining plateaus containing the extracted <br />gypsum rock product cannot be treated with dust suppressants because the wallboazd <br />manufacturing process would be adversely affected by rock treated with suppressants. <br />However, with the sequential mining a backfill method, areas of disturbance will be <br />minimized and effectively controlled with water spray. The current practice of <br />maintaining truck traffic in "watered lanes" on the mining plateau will continue in the <br />9 <br />