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Description of the Environment <br />Site Description and Land Use - Rule 2.04.3 <br />The West Elk Mine is located approximately one mile east of the town of Somerset on Colorado <br />State Highway No. 133. The western permit boundary extends to the outer slopes of Jumbo <br />Mountain. Permit Revision 11 extended the eastern permit boundary into the Raven Gulch and <br />Deep Creek watersheds. The northern extremity of the permit area lies just north of the North <br />Fork of the Gunnison. Permit Revision 10 extended the southern boundary of the permit area <br />south of Minnesota Reservoir into the drainage basins of Minnesota Creek, Dry Fork, Lick <br />Creek, Poison Gulch, and Deep Creek. Permit Revision 12 extended the permit area to the <br />southeast with the addition of the Dry Fork lease. The active Elk Creek Mine is located just <br />northwest of the West Elk Mine facilities, north of the North Fork of the Gunnison River. The <br />inactive Bear I, II, and III Mines are next to the West Elk Mine on the west. The inactive Oliver <br />Mine is next to West Elk on the east. <br />The West Elk Mine is on the western flank of the West Elk Mountains in the drainage basin of <br />the North Fork of the Gunnison River. The climate is semi-arid. Topography is characterized by <br />steeply sloping mountains covered primarily with tall shrub vegetation, particularly Gambel oak <br />and Saskatoon serviceberry. The general area where the mine is located is currently used for <br />grazing domestic livestock (cattle and sheep) and wildlife (deer and elk). Recreational activities <br />such as big game hunting also occur here. <br />Slopes range from 0 to 60 percent on the permit area, and elevations range from 5,900 feet at <br />Somerset in the valley of the North Fork, to above 8,000 feet in the southeast corner of the permit <br />area. <br />The steep slopes of the stream valleys and the instability of the rock strata in the North Fork <br />drainage basin have contributed to numerous landslides, mud flows and rock falls. These mass <br />wasting features have been mapped by W.R. Junge of the Colorado Geological Survey and <br />published as an open file report, entitled "Geologic Hazards, North Fork Gunnison River Valley, <br />Delta and Gunnison Counties, Colorado." <br />The primary land uses within the permit area are characterized as rangeland and woodland, <br />supporting big game (deer and elk) and livestock (cattle and sheep). Portions of the permit area <br />are within the boundaries of Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. <br />Cultural and Historic Resources - Rule 2 .04.4 and 2.05.6(4) <br />Cultural and historic resources are discussed in Section 2.04.4 of the permit document. Records <br />from the Historic Buildings and Sites file of the Colorado Historical Society and the <br />Archaeological Survey file of the Office of the State Archaeologist were reviewed for previously <br />recorded sites. No evidence was found indicating the existence of known sites in the vicinity of <br />the mine. An archaeological reconnaissance was also conducted. Field studies, laboratory <br />operations, and report preparation were completed by an archaeological team from Fort Lewis <br />6