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~.~.~'~ii Fa.x__ Results ~of a March 1977 archaeological survey of the permit area are presented in Exhibit 7. No archeological resources were discovered. The Colorado State Historic Preservation Office confirmed in a letter dated December 13, 1993, that the Pennrit Revision No. 1 activities will not impact any cultural resources due to the lack of any such resounces in the area. The Colorado State Historic Preservation office confirmed (via telephone) that Permit Revision No. 2 activities will not impact any cultural resources due to the lack of any such resources in the arra. No public park or national historic place will be adversely affected by the Bear mining operation; therefore, a damage mitigation plan is not required per Rule 2.05.6(4). . Climatological Information and Air Reoourres -Rules 2.04.8. 2.05.4(21(hl -. - Climatological and air resource information is contained in Sections 2.04.8 and 2.05.6 of the Bear No. 1 and 2 permit application, and in Sections 2.03.10, 2.04.8 and 2.05.6 and 4.16 of the Bear No. 3 permit revision application. Local temperature is inversely related to elevation. Mean annual temperatures along the mountain peaks are much colder than the mean annual temperatures of adjacent valleys. The mean annual temperature of Paonia; Colorado is approximately SO~F. Temperature extremes recorded at Paonia are -28~F (January 1913) and 100~F (June 1927; July and August 1934). Precipitation is directly related to elevation. The valley in which Paonia and Somerset are situated is semi-arid with average annual precipitation of IS inches. Mean annual precipitation increases with elevation, approaching 40 inches per year on We summit of Mt. Gunnison. Annual snowfall on mountain peaks south of Somerset, Colorado, is greater than 300 inches. Average annual snowfall at Paonia, Colorado, is approximately 58 inches. The May to September precipitation is five inches for the lowlands, and 13 inches for the nearby mountain peaks. The remaining majority of precipitation occurs during the months of October to April. Average annual precipitation at Somerset, Colorado, is twenty-five inches (Figure 2). Information from the West Elk Mine permit application indicates that approximately two-thirds of the annual precipitation occurs between October and April of each year. The remainder of the precipitation occurs between the montirs of May and September. The Wilcox Ranch Station, Located near Bowie, Colorado, is the closest weather station to the Bear Mine. Data collected at this station indicate that a similar precipitation pattern has been present for seventy years (Figure 3). The Wilcox Ranch Station is at a lower elevation than Somerset; therefore, the location exhibits less precipitation. Rind direction at the mine site is generally west-northwest and east-southeast. The wind direction is controlled by the east-west orientation of the North Fork of the Gunnison River canyon. Diurnal heating and cooling of the land surface 6