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supplementary income to the farmer and landowner. Dryland farming of small grain crops and alfalfa, on older terraces is widespread in this region of Colorado. The terrace soils are acceptable for this use. The surface water and groundwater resources of the permit area are considered minimal as described below insofar their contribution to the local and regional water systems. There are no irrigation ditches in the aforementioned areas. The combination ditch and berms present in the terrace fields are open at both ends. SCS personnel in Durango describe these structures as terrace systems. Terrace systems serve to accumulate snowpack because there is no water available for irrigation (personal communication, Mr. Gene Harper, SCS, Durango, Colorado). In the original permit application, the location farmer, Mr. Ken Jenkins, also stated the structures serve to retard soil erosion caused by wind and were paid for by the SCS as erosion control devices. Within the basin drainage, sufficient water is not available for irrigation during the growing season (See Table 4-6 and Section 2.06.1(7). Importation of water to terrace areas via canals is in practice on Florida Mesa, but not on the Animas River Valley in the locale of the mine (Mr. Gene Harper, SCS, Durango, Colorado). There is no feasible way that importation of water from the Animas River could be accomplished. Any such canal would have to intercept the river north of Durango for gravity flow to the project site to occur, necessitating canal conswction through the City of Durango. • Herbaceous production within the pinyon juniper and mountain shrub vegetation communities was determined during baseline vegetation studies conducted prior to permitting of the mine. Total annual herbaceous vegetation production ranged from 65 lb/ac in the mountain shrub community to 200 ib/ac in the pinyon juniper community. Total annual herbaceous production was 844 ]b/ac in an old field vegetation community. The monthly per animal forage requirement for cattle is 900 pounds of forage. Within the most productive vegetation community of the permit area, nearly 9 acres would be required for each animal for a nine month grazing season. In the least productive vegetation community, 125 acres would be required to provide adequate feed for one animal over a nine month grazing season. The permit area was not been mined for coal prior to the first permit. Since then mining activities have been conducted on the permit area as discussed in Section 2.05. The nearest historic coal mine was about one mile away. Building stone (sandstone) was extracted for use in the Durango and surrounding areas (See Map 4-1) within and adjacent to the permit area, as described below. In mining the sandstone building material, a quarry method of mining extraction was used. The sandstone rock was quarried from the sandstone cap rock in one location within the permit area as located on Map 4-1. The quantity of sandstone quarried is not known. Historically, sandstone was first quarried in about 1931, and quarry operations continued intermittently until approximately 1955. The ]and use preceding • the 1931 rock quarrying was primarily public domain and considered open range. Technical Revision 09 (v 1.0) 42 Revised 3/1998