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photo location 3. However, with the county rules encouraging developers to avoid <br />construction on the top of these kinds of ridge lines it seems that most houses might be <br />constructed on the west side of the ridge so the main view would be west toward the <br />Rocky Mountains. But some houses might be constructed on the east side of the ridge as <br />well and the view east from those houses would probably be affected by the pit. At this <br />point there are no known plans for developing that land, but it could potentially occur. <br />Finally, in both Photos 2 and 3 a very large portion of the reclaimed portion of the <br />current pit is visible and outlined on the photos. The primary vegetation in this area is <br />alfalfa, as required in the Reclamation Permit. Comparison of this reclaimed land with the <br />surrounding land shows that the fact this land was mined has been almost totally <br />obscured. There remains some extremely fine texture lines on the north end of the <br />reclaimed land in both views, but one must look at the photos very closely to see that <br />micro-texture. In general, nobody driving down the roadway would notice these micro- <br />textures. It is a situation where to notice them you almost have to be aware of them <br />beforehand. <br />Although the impact on visual resources is certainly not zero, the overall impact is <br />moderate at worst. In comparison to other potential impacts in these three views, it is <br />likely that a new, significant housing development would have greater impact, at least for <br />awhile. If the portions of the grasslands were plowed and planted to wheat that would <br />also cause a significant deviation. These comparisons are made not to belittle the impact <br />of the sand pit, but to point out that other impacts that could occur could potentially be <br />even more significant than the sand pit. <br />One advantage of the sand pit, in comparison to other uses, at least from a visual <br />impact point of view, is that the sand pit, when completed, will be revegetated, as <br />required by the Reclamation Permit, and will return to an agricultural use. In the event <br />that final land use is abandoned, nothing can be constructed in the pit area because it will <br />likely end up in the 100 year flood plain. But, even if that final use is abandoned <br />revegetation must still occur to meet the standards in the State law. Thus, if no use was <br />made of the land after the mining is completed and the land was graded and revegetated, <br />the large bottom of the pit would revert to a more natural vegetation. Because the land <br />would be basically flat, would have a sandy texture under the layer of soil, and be close to <br />the water table, the most likely natural vegetation would be an expansion of the riparian <br />forest into the former sand pit area. Thus it would be quickly invaded by cottonwood, <br />willow, box elder, and a wide variety of forbs and grasses. If that were to occur, the area <br />could become a significant wildlife habitat whose characteristics would add to the <br />character of the overall landscape along Running Creek. <br />Miller Gravel Pit -Special Use Permit Page 22 of 26 <br />