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REX E LC]ESBY PE • 3037739632 • EXHIBIT B: SITE DESCRIPTION Histo P, 03 Received JUN 21 1989 ~'~n9o Field Dit'isbn of Miner ~ic9 ~ 3 Geology The Yule Quarry is more than a dimensional stone quarry. It has a unique and colorful place in Colorado history. The white marble was discovered in the 1880's and soon became known as one of the finest white marbles in the world. It was selected for the exterior of the Lincoln Memorial in 1916 and the Tomb of the Unknowns in 1936. The quarry closed in 194 t and remained a tourist destination until 1990, when it was re-opened by the new Colorado Yule Mazble Company (CYMC). During the 1940's through the 1990'x, the hike to the quarry has been a special experience for thousands of tourists each aummcr. The hike includes a wade through a narrow gulch where Yule Creek cascades across brilliant white trtazble. 1t concludes at the incredibly huge entries to the Yule Quarry where the visitor can look down into the massive undergrotmd roottu excavated by early century miners. CYMC failed in early 1999 and Sierra Minerals intends to re-open the quarry under new management and under a new permit with the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (CpMG). The pictwes here show the quarry openings after CYMC re-opened it in 1990 (above, right), the footpath to the quarry (above, left), and the quarry interior (tight). The picture on the following page shows the front of the quarry in early 1999 with the fuel storage tank to the left and the generator trailer to rho right. {a) Veeetatioa and Soil Characterletics: In the affected area and on the fringes of the atfcctcd area there are subalpine spruce/fir forests as well as substantial areas of bare rock. The original condition of most of the affected area near the quarry portals was bare rock as can be seen in the photo below dated 1911. Topsoil, where it exists in the area! tends to be shallow and very rocky -typically ao more than six inches thick. (b) Structures Within 200 Feet: The eastern edge of the affected area is traversed by a foot trail that was relocated aGghtly when CYMC began operations in ]990. This foot trail begins at the tourist pazking azea at the north end of the White Marble Lode Claim, leads up along Yule Creek to the base of the quarry, follows a ridge line between the waste piles and Ytile Creek, then leads to the quarry errtries. Access to this foot trail is via the historic right of way established by the wagon road to the quatxy constructed in the late 1800'x, and then by the electric railroad beginning in 1908. The railroad was removed in 1941 when the quarry closed. During the 1940's through the late 1940'x, access was open to the public. Four wheel drive vehicles could reach the quarry entries up until the 1970's when the road washed out along Yule Creek just north of quarry entries. After the wash outs, access was limited to htkets. Access along the historic right of way has been blocked by the owner ofthe Yule Lode Claim (McIntyre). Gunnison County has instituted legal action in an attempt to establish that the trail is a public road. The quarry's zoning permit with Gunnison County takes tbe position that the trail is a public right of way. If access is reopened, Sierra intends to contply with the terms of the zoning permit. Resolution of the dispute is not expected until sometime in 2000.