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park along the west side of the rail spur), and a small housing development adjacent to the rail <br />spur. Land is farmed along the northern margin of the railroad spur and south of the Loadout <br />facility, with winter wheat being the principal crop. Cattle are also grazed in the area. Most of <br />the disturbance associated with the construction of the Loadout occurred in areas historically <br />utilized for crop production but which were taken out of production and seeded with introduced <br />grasses prior to construction of the Loadout. <br />Historically, grazing pressure has been heavy in the Dry Creek drainage and adjacent alkaline <br />shrublands. Part of the permit area is lightly grazed. A variety of wildlife species use the area's <br />rangeland and seeded cropland areas. Use by some species may decrease while the Loadout and <br />railroad spur are in operation. <br />The Yampa Valley Airport is located one-quarter mile east of the permit area. One private <br />dwelling is located just east of the rail spur at the north portion on the permit area. A small <br />housing development has been zoned west of the permit area alongside the rail spur. The <br />Loadout currently has a special use permit and is in compliance with the land use plans of both <br />Routt County and the Town of Hayden. <br />Post-mining land use will consist of utilization for grazing and wildlife. <br />Geolo <br />Detailed geologic information, including geologic maps and a generalized geologic cross-section, <br />can be found in Tab 6 of the permit application. <br />The Loadout is located in the Dry Creek drainage approximately two miles north of the Williams <br />Fork Mountains. The permit area is underlain by the Lewis shale, a predominantly dark-gray to <br />bluish, marine shale of Cretaceous age. The Lewis shale dips a few degrees generally northward <br />into the Sand Wash Basin. The shale beds have weathered out to form gently sloping hillsides on <br />either side of the nearly level alluvial valley floors and terraces found along Dry Creek. <br />Surface waters do not appear to be in hydrologic communication with the Twentymile Sandstone, <br />a significant regional aquifer that underlies the Lewis shale. Ground water movement is <br />described below and in Tabs 7, 14 and 15 of the permit application. <br />Soils <br />Soils in the Dry Creek area range from clays to loams. The soils are of limited agricultural use <br />due to high concentrations of sodium and salt. Information on soils can be found in Tabs 9 and <br />19 of the permit application. Specific findings related to soils are described in Section B, Item <br />IV of this document. <br />climate <br />More detailed climatic information can be found in Tab 8 of the permit application.