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1.1. Objectives of Taking Action <br />Four objectives were identified by the planning team for this Environmental Assessment: <br />• Provide holders of private mineral rights reasonable access for development, to the extent it <br />does not compromise the purposes of Curecanti National Recreation Area or conflict with <br />the mission and mandates of the National Park System. <br />• Analyze potential impacts to cultural resources on or eligible for listing on the National <br />' Register of Historic Places as well as natural and socioeconomic resources. <br />• Develop measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse impacts to park resources and <br />values, human health and safety, and visitor use and experience; and to prevent impairment <br />to park resources and values. <br />• Involve the public in the environmental analysis process. <br />1.2. Special Mandates and Direction <br />This section describes the special mandates and direction that govern mineral management in <br />Curecanti National Recreation Area, including the proposed expansion of the operations at the <br />Dickerson Quarry. Special mandates and direction include the statutes and administrative <br />documents that define the purpose and significance of the park and current legal and policy <br />requirements, which are based on laws, Executive Orders, regulations, policies, and guidance <br />documents. <br />1.2.1. Legislative and Administrative History of Curecanti National Recreation Area and <br />the Dickerson Quarry <br />The 79.57-acre Dickerson property was originally acquired in fee simple from the U.S. <br />Government in 1897, pursuant to the Cash Entry Law of 1820, for the congressionally stipulated <br />price of $1.25 per acre. Since approximately 1927, the quarry on the Dickerson property has <br />served as a source of aggregate material for the surrounding community. <br />In 1956, Congress enacted the Colorado River Storage Project Act. Section 8 of the Act (now <br />codified at 43 U. S. Code (U.S.C.) § 620(g)) authorized the Secretary of the Interior to acquire <br />lands for the Colorado River Storage Project in order to construct dams; conserve the scenery, <br />the natural, historic, and archeological objects, and the wildlife; and provide for public <br />enjoyment. In 1958, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and the NPS jointly made a request to <br />the Secretary of the Interior for the NPS to be given the responsibility for carrying out Section 8 <br />~ Meanwhile, BOR began negotiating with private landowners in order to acquire their lands for <br />the project. Negotiations between BOR and Mrs. Ruth Dickerson's representatives took place <br />in late 1962 and early 1963. At that time, Mrs. Dickerson was selling decomposed granite from <br />approximately 3 to 4 acres of the quarry to local companies that primarily marketed it to private <br />individuals who used it to build or maintain roads, driveways, and parking areas, averaging <br />approximately $1,000 per year profit. It is clear from the negotiation documents that she <br />intended to convey the quarry to the U.S. Government, along with the rest of her property. <br />However, BOR refused to acquire the rights to the quarry, apparently due to its policy of only <br />acquiring mineral estates when the mining operations would interfere with the dam workings. <br />' This left Mrs. Dickerson with no choice but to reserve the quarry, thus severing the mineral <br />estate from the surface estate. Although the negotiation documents indicate that BOR and Mrs. <br />Dickerson originally contemplated that she would reserve 10.24 acres, the actual April 4, 1963 <br />3 <br />