2009-12-03_REVISION - M1998022 (4)

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Subject: Mellish and Howie Appeal Recommendation Memorandum for the Conger Rock Harvesting Project, Aspen-Sopris Ranger District, White River National Forest To: Appeal Deciding Officer I have reviewed the administrative record supporting the Decision Notice signed by the Aspen-Sopris District Ranger, Irene Davidson on July 17, 2009, selecting the proposed action for the Conger Rock Harvesting Project. The decision was jointly appealed by Tom Mellish and Art Howie. The review of the record was supported by Diana McGinn from the Nebraska National Forest and Chelsea Vollmer from the Black Hills National Forest. The Conger Rock Harvesting Project approval allows the Gallegos Corporation to manually harvest decorative rock from a surficial talus deposit on 5.86 acres of Forest Lands. The decision limits the rock harvest to 1,244 tons per year and limits the period of operations from June 21 through October 31. Manual harvesting will be supported by a forklift (bobcat) and flatbed truck. The decision prohibits long- term equipment storage, material staging, or structures on National Forest System (NFS) lands. The project site is a talus-covered slope overlooking the Crystal River. Rock harvesting occurred since 1998 on the private land adjacent to the NFS land, under a Colorado Division of Reclamation and Mine Safety permit. There are several subdivisions on the valley floor and adjacent uplands. Appeal Points: • Noise - the project will exceed the permissible maximum noise levels (violates State regulations) • Project violates the Upper Crystal River Special Area Regulations (violates Gunnison County Draft regulations) • Visual impacts will exceed allowable thresholds for a wild and scenic river corridor (violates the Forest Plan) Summary Recommendation: I recommend that the District Ranger's decision be affirmed on all points. I found that the District Ranger either fully considered the appeal topic and there is no violation of regulation, policy or law as asserted in the appeals. Issue 1: The decision violates Colorado Noise Statute 25-12-103 Specific Claim: "Furthermore, we contend that this project should be denied because it violates the Colorado Noise Statute, provision 25-12-103. The screeching and grating by the heavy equipment and the continual beeping more than exceeds 70 db(a), well over the 55 db(a) limit." Discussion: The appellants claim that the proposed decision violates the Colorado Noise Statute; however it is stated in the Decision Notice that "as part of its contract obligation with the Forest Service, 1 Ao-q-O`(