2009-02-10_PERMIT FILE - C1981022 ‎(5)‎

• Permit No: C1981022
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 2/10/2009
• Section_Exhibit Name: 2.04 Environmental Resources
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

Seam - 2.04.4
mining operations. These land use changes have been accomplished through submittal to and
• approval of Land Use Change or Special Development Permit applications by Gunnison County as
summarized in Section 2.03.10 Identification of Other Licenses and Pemuts. Any future changes in
land use which may be required will be accomplished through a similar application/approval process,
as applicable. Delta County, which encompasses the western portion of the mine permit area, has not
adopted land use or zoning designations.
2.04.4 - Cultural and Historic Resource Information
This section of the permit application describes the cultural and historic resource context of the
general area as well as any known cultural or historic resource values which have been identified
within the mine permit and adjacent areas. This information provides the basis for evaluation of
potential mining-related impacts on these resources and development of any appropriate plans for
resource protection or documentation. Most of the information presented in this section is based on
historical records and information from the Colorado Fliistorical Society as well as site-specific field
investigations of various surface disturbance areas.
Cultural and Historical Perspective
Evidence of several successive Paleo-Indian cultures has been found in west-central Colorado. These
cultures include the Llano Culture associated with the characteristic "Clovis" projectile point (prior to
9,200 B.C); the Folsom Culture associated with projectile points of the same name (approximately
7,000 to 9,000 B.C); and the Plano Culture associated with projectile points of the same name
(approximately 7,000 to 5,500 B.C). All of the Paleo-Indian Cultures focused on a nomadic big-game
hunting lifestyle. The Paleo-Indian cultures gave way to the Archaic Tradition, which involved a
broader food-base of big-game, small-game, and vegetal foodstuffs and seasonal campsites. As part
• of the Archaic Tradition, perhaps the best known culture was the Fremont Culture (approximately
500 to 1,300 A.D.) due to wide distribution and large numbers of associated artifacts. The Archaic
Tradition continued into the historic period with the Ute Indians being the most familiar and recent
native inhabitants of the area. The Utes were driven from their traditional homelands and hunting
areas by westward expansion and settlement, settling on designated reservation areas by the 1880's.
The earliest known Euro-Arnerican exploration of the area was the Dominguez and Escalante
Expedition in the late 1770's which is believed to have explored the North Fork of the Gunnison
River from the west up to the present Town of Bowie, where it turned north. Fur trappers
subsequently moved into the region and a trading post was established by Antoine Robidoux in 1828
just west of the present Town of Delta. The fur-trapping industry declined in the late 1830's and
there was little activity in the area until the 1860's following the discovery of gold in Colorado. The
gold rush brought increasing numbers of fortune-seekers and settlers to western Colorado and
although no significant gold was found in west-central Colorado, the influx of settlers laid the
foundation for subsequent development and growth. After the Ute Indians were driven from their
homeland in the 1880's, a strong agricultural economy developed in western Colorado with the
establishment of ranches, grazing, and irrigated orchards in the fertile valleys of the Colorado River
and lower North Fork of the Gunnison.
Along with other development came the railroads and the need for coal After coal was discovered
along the North Fork of the Gunnison River in approximately 1883, the coal industry developed
rapidly, with establishment of the Somerset Mme and associated townsite in 1901 through 1903, and
development of the Oliver and Bowie Mmes as well as numerous smaller operations. In the
immediate vicinity of the mine permit area, coal muting has retrained the primary economic activity
through the present with several large mines providing coal for electrical power generation and
. industrial uses and employment for a new generation of local miners.
PR04 2.04-4 Revised August 2000