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• UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE <br />SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE <br />66 <br />Plortaood Field Ofi'ice PO Box lldf3 lforcaood, Colorado t11li23 <br />SUDIEC'T: DATE: Deu, 7, 19'8 <br />To;htr, Hoy Kano <br />Peabody Coal Company <br />lh~awer D <br />Hayden, Colorado 41639 <br />hear Iir, Karo: <br />Tl,is trill constitute my revietr of the items we discussed during your office <br />visit this morning. I'm sorry I neglected to send you a report cuncern.in;, <br />"prime" agricultural lands in the 1Jucla area when you requested it earlier - <br />it just slipped nqr mind, <br />After your visit I reviewed the old conservation survey of Lhe 'Cabeguachc <br />survey Area with Bill Hatan, soil scientist, I:e caapared the soil capability <br />• units of the conservation survey with the units of the recently updated <br />survey of the same area, As you are. aware, the older survey siiotaed parts <br />of the area to be capability class "II", and the present survey slrotrs tltc; <br />same area to be class "III". I have no ansraer as to triry the discrepancy, <br />but I taould assume i.t to be due to the personal bias of the men doing the <br />ma;ping, Ilotaever, Iir, f[atrn did mention that one breaking point bctueen a <br />capability class of II and III is that class II has a depth oi' greater tt,an <br />!rU inches, The soil unit in question has a depth oi' 20 to 1r0 inches over <br />fractured sandstone and shale, <br />A publication I have by the moil Conservation Society oi' :imex•ica - "llentention <br />oi' .15riculturul Land" -described I,rirne 8armland as land Ira'rin;; 1:tre <br />necessary soil quality, growing season and ^toisture sul,ply to produce <br />sustained yields of crops ecororrucally, :1n adequate moisture sul,ply is <br />described as being sufficient quantities in seven ye;:rs ouL of ten. It <br />i'urtlrer qualifies prime farmland as being equal to class I and lI, and <br />some class Ill, <br />I realy can't justify to n1Yse1F that the agricultural land in the lluclrc <br />area is "priiae" from a national standpoint, partly because o1' the taatci• <br />supply and grotring season. I do feel, however, that it can be consiclored <br />as boing farmland oi' considerable local importance, <br />1 enjoyed our discussion of revegetation taork being done by Peabody, as I <br />mentioned the ;;oil Conservation Ser'rice can mace seeds and r~lantin•• mat,;rials <br />a•railable to District cooperators for field trial plantivgs, rabic!, muy other- <br />. wise not be cormnercially available, 'Phis is done through our Plsnt l:aterials <br />0 <br />