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United States Department of Agriculture <br />o NKS <br />Naturd Resources Corww vab n Service <br />102 Par Place <br />Mwress. CO 81401 <br />970-249.8407-OFFICE <br />da,Ad.dearstyne@co.usda.gov <br />Feb. 11, 2008 <br />At the request of Jim Boyd, District Conservationist out of Norwood Colorado, I would like to <br />address the following topics; 1) Definition of Prime Farmland. 2) Levels of Soil Survoy 3) <br />Similar Soils. These topics are related to aproject that would involve reclamation of possible <br />Prime Farmland after a mining operation. <br />1) The attached document defines Prime Farmland and gives the criteria for designation. In the <br />report "Order One Soil Survey" for New Horizon Mine, March 1998 by Intermountain Resource <br />Inventory Inc, James Irvine author, there is a statement on page 14 that was quoted from the <br />document "Colorado Important Farmland Inventory" that I would like to address. In the <br />Colorado Important Farmland Inventory document, it states that prime farmland designation in <br />Colorado would not be given to any soil with a pH of over 7.4(see page 3 item 4 of this <br />document). This statement, in the same document, does not agree with the statement on page 2 <br />item 3 for the national requirements for prime farmland If the criteria of pH 7.4 were applied, <br />then it would eliminate over 90 percent of the soils currently designated prime farmland on the <br />west slope of Colorado. According to the statement from the National Soil Survey Handbook <br />developed for Soil Survey and the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the designation of <br />Prime Farmland is a tool developed by NRCS (NSSH 657.1) for the purpose of "the nation needs <br />to know the extent and location of the best land for producing food, feed, fiber..." If one <br />examines the sod survey that contains the soils information for the area in question, map unit <br />Barx fine sandy loam, l to 3 percent slopes is designated as prime farmland in the accompanying <br />table (see attached). <br />In order to discover in depth the apparent discrepancy i a the document "Colorado Important <br />Farmland Inventory", I contacted the M06 regional Soil Survey Office in Lakewood. Colorado <br />who has oversight of this soil survey. I was informed in my conversation with the staff located <br />there of two things concerning this statemen and document. First, the statement on page 3, item <br />4 was in error and should read 8.4. Secondly, the document in question (Colorado Important <br />Farmland Inventory was put together sometime around 1980 and is now rendered obsolete. That <br />any and all determinations for Prime Farmland would tie directly back solely to the national <br />criteria. <br />2) Levels of Soil Survey were developed to best meet the needs for soils information of the <br />present and foreseeable future needs for resource management. Soil surveys in Colorado have, <br />to my knowledge, been conducted using two levels of soil survey (level 2 and level 3). Levels of <br />soil survey are determined by use and can be found in the Soil Survey Manual (Agricultural <br />Handbook 18 (USDA)) on pages 47-56. In this book it lists the 20d order of Soil Survey for <br />"agricultural" and the 3'd order for "range". It also states on pages 55-56 that there may be two <br />orders of soil survey mapping within a survey area. On page 48 it states that V4 order survey is <br />for "very intensive (i.e. experimental plots, individual building sites)". Keep this statement in <br />mind as we discuss similar soils. Based upon Soil Survey Manuel directives and information <br />that the area under consideration was in agriculture at the time, it is probably safe to conclude <br />that the Barg soil in the area was mapped at an order 2 intensity of examination. <br />M Equd Oppwwnay P-MW and Emp;"W <br />(Revised June 2008) Attachment 2.04.9-10-2