PERMFILE124206

• Permit No: C1982056
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 12/11/2001
• Section_Exhibit Name: Exhibit 04e-2 AVF Evaluation Fish Creek Mine
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

subirrigated AVF is used by individual ranching operations in the area and how important the
• production from [he AVF is to the farm's production. Fir example, if the irrigated hay meadows
on an AVF were used to supply winter feed, then the significance of the production from the
AVF to the farm's total winter feed production was assessed. (It should be noted that Perley
Green Ranch is the primary ranching unit that could be potentially be affected by [Ite proposed
mining operation in the study area. Therefore, the assessment of the significance of AVFs to this
ranch has received the most intensive analysis. Other ranches which may be peripherally
affected by mining, are no[ analyzed in such detail; however, conclusions are made regarding the
significance of the designated AVF to such ranching operations.)
The basic data used in this assessment were obtained from individual ranchers and from the Soil
Conservation Service, USDA (Tom Steitz). The ranching units described are an approximation
of the ranch on August 3, 1977 when the Federal Surface Mining Control sand Reclamation Act
was passed. as 94
Perley Green Ranch
Tlie Perley Green ranch includes four separate land bases, which include property on Trout
Creek, property on Fish Creek, a ranch north of Craig, and a ranch west of Hayden. These
ranches interact in meeting their cattle feeding needs in order to maximize their profits.
Tlie marginally subirrigated upper Fish Creek hay meadow includes 72.4 acres of smooth brome
meadow yielding an average of one ton per acre. ]n 1982, the yield from the hay meadow was as
low as 0.25 tons per acre (Perley Green, personal communication October, 1982). The hay from
the marginally subirrigated, Fish Creek Meadow is generally sold to other ranches. The total
• Baying operation for the Green Ranches include 250 tons from the Trout Creek property, 350
tons from the ranch west of Hayden, 400 tons from [he ranch north of Craig, and 72.4 tons form
the upper Fish Creek meadow. A total of 1,072 tons of hay are collectively produced on the
Green Ranches. Therefore, the production from the marginally subirrigated upper Fislt Creek
liay meadow, constitutes 6.8 percent of the total hay production for the Green collective ranching
operation. As a result, it is considered that the amount of hay produced on Fish Creek is not
significant to hay production operations for the Green Ranch.
Colorado Yampa Coal Company Ranch
Tlie Colorado Yampa Coal Company (CYCC) manages a large dynamic land base as a single
ranching operation. The ranch practices change as new properties are acquired and as mining
operations progress. Mr. Bill Buckels, the ranch manager slate (Personal communication,
October, 1982) that it would be extremely difficult to reconstruct the ranch acreage's, ranching
practices, and associated production on August 3, 1977. Management practices on the ranch
vary not only with changes in the land base, but Mr. Buckles also rotates which irrigated
meadows are hayed or grazed each year and beef prices also influence the ranching operation.
Flood irrigation operations associated with the CYCC ranch include the following: (I) the lower
liay meadow on Fislt Creek (approximately 75 acres) irrigated by [he Boettler Ditch, (2) the
upper hay meadow on Fish Creek irrigated by the Corliss Ditch (approximately 100 acres), (3)
the liay meadow on lower Foidel/Middle Creek (approximately 150 - 200 acres) irrigated from
[lie Lieske Ditch and unnamed ditch out of Middle Creek. Mr. Buckels estimates that in 1977,
these irrigated acreage's accounted for 50 - 60% of the total feed requirements for the CYCC
• ranching operation. Tlie total irrigated acreage is considered significant to the CYCC ranching
operation as it existed in 1977.
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