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<br />4 <br />reF~opulate the valley as reclamation occurs. This is clearly <br />.not enough. If prairie dog towns are to be mined or <br />disrupted by mining, the animals need to be relocated to <br />other appropriate areas of the valley, and reintroduced to <br />their original habitat after reclamation. <br />Checks and Balances <br />Although Southdown's reclamation plans seem thorough at first <br />examination, there are indeed some holes that need <br />;addressing, the prairie dog populations being a good example. <br />~BCAS would like the opportunity of working with Southdown on <br />these specific issues. Furthermore, we feel there should be <br />a regular and periodic check-up on all mining and reclamation <br />activities, in order to assure that promises are indeed being <br />kept. Perhaps these official reviews should occur as <br />frequently as every 3 years or less. <br />In addition, there needs to be a set of fines, strictly <br />enforced, should any infractions take place. Mining and <br />reclamation must be carefully monitored, and County officials <br />must be given "the teeth" to properly enforce all <br />regulations. <br />Due to the complexity of this case, we view these initial <br />comments as preliminary in nature, and would like to reserve <br />the opportunity for specific comment as this process <br />proceeds. (In the following pages, we have included a few <br />examples of the type of questions and specific issues to <br />which I refer.) <br />Our thanks again to the County Commissioners and staff, for <br />the opportunity of expressing our concerns. <br />Comments and Ouestions From the Proposed Reservoir Documents <br />Page 1-- Comment: In paragraph 4, Southdown states that <br />they wish to "gain revenue from the use <br />of their land for water storage". We <br />feel that revenue gained from over 25 <br />years of mining should provide more than <br />ample profit/return on the dollar for <br />their investment, without having to <br />further degradate the ecology of the <br />