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0 Decision Number/Page: p.23 GRCRMP <br />Decision Language: "This decision is based on the increasing demand for open space for <br />both wildlife and recreation adjacent to the city of Durango. Increasing the emphasis on <br />wildlife and recreation will reduce the acreage available to sand-and-gravel operations, <br />but will still allow for limited sand-and-gravel development." <br />The proposed 15 acre expansion area is within the 160 acres identified for sand and <br />gravel operations. <br />In order to comply with the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) requirements of analytic <br />and concise environmental documents (40 CFR 1502.2), only those resources identified as <br />potentially affected or of special concern by the Proposed Action are addressed in detail in this <br />chapter. For the purpose of this EA, potential impacts have been divided into three categories: <br />- as defined in CEQ guidelines (40 CFR 1500-1508), impacts which are substantial <br />in severity and therefore should receive the greatest attention in decision-making. <br />era e - impacts which cause a degree of change that is easy to detect, but do not <br />meet the criteria for substantial impacts. <br />- impacts which cannot be easily detected, and cause little change in the existing <br />environment. <br />An interdisciplinary team of resource specialists conducted field resource investigations, <br />literature reviews, and agency consultations during winter 2007/2008. Based on these <br />investigations, reviews and interviews, the following critical elements (BLM 1988) have been <br />evaluated and are either not present or are not affected by the Proposed Action or the alternatives <br />in this assessment (Table 1 provides the basis for this determination): <br />• Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) <br />• Environmental Justice <br />• Prime or Unique Farmlands <br />• Floodplains <br />• Native American Religious Concerns <br />• Wetlands/Riparian Zones <br />• Wild and Scenic Rivers <br />• Wilderness Areas <br />Critical elements potentially affected by the Proposed Action and described in the following <br />sections are: <br />• Air Quality <br />Grandview Gravel Pit Expansion Environmental Assessment 10