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• Soils within the mine plan area are currently being used for rangeland. The condition of <br />these soils limits them to this usage. Utilizing the area for cropland would be extremely <br />limited within the permit area. Present productivity of the lands, estimated at 800 air-dried <br />pounds of foliage per acre, is largely determined by the extent and the nature of the present <br />vegetation within the area. The predominant limitation of these soils is lack of water. <br />Hydrological Capability <br />As explained in detail in the hydrologic sections, available surface water supplies in the <br />permit area and adjacent lands are limited in quantity and quality. Groundwater sampled <br />from domestic and groundwater monitoring wells consists of hard, alkaline, moderately-saline <br />water. No seeps or springs are found in the permit area. Surface water supplies are limited <br />to occasional flow in ephemeral streams and a few ponds or impoundments found in the <br />area. These limited water supplies restrict local land use to grazing. <br />Capability of the Land to Support a Variety of Uses <br />Presently, physical and social constraints severely limit the variety of uses suitable for lands <br />within the permit area. The potential of the area to support uses other than rangeland is <br />questionable. Because the permit area is adjacent to State Highway 69 and close to the <br />town of Walsenburg, it is theoretically available for residential use. However, because of <br />poor groundwater quality resulting in part from previous underground mining, housing <br />• development has been minimal in the area. <br />Recently, with the popularity of Colorado as a retirement and "second-home" development <br />area, several local companies have purchased acreage historically used for rangeland and <br />subdivided it for potential residential use. This subdividing has been mainly speculative, with <br />the hope of outside investment. It has occurred in the area just west and south of the <br />permit area. In spite of recent subdividing, historic population trends in Huerfano County <br />reflect a centralization of the population in the towns of LaVeta, Walsenburg, and Gardner. <br />Recreational opportunities in the permit area, particularly for deer hunting, are low because <br />of limited surface water and the area's proximity to Highway 69 and the town of <br />Walsenburg. It is anticipated that the majority of the recreation activities in Huerfano <br />County will remain within forest lands to the west of the permit area. <br />Aside from grazing, the only potential use of the permit area would be residential. <br />However, because of the limited population base in Huerfano County, this would be limited. <br />Previous Underground Mining <br />Underground mining activities were carried on in the proposed permit area for at ]east <br />seventy years. Historical information regarding underground mining is found in Part 2.04.4, <br />Cultural and Historic Resource Information. Information regarding the previous operations <br />• is found in Table 2, Previous Underground Mining Operations. Prior to underground coal <br />2.04-2 <br />