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z <br />Additional Permit Area Wrongfully Includes Dedicated Public Trail <br />We object to the Amendment because it seeks to remove or obstruct continued public <br />access to the dedicated public Trail accessing the White River National Forest. (Also see <br />Nichols Amendment response letter, State Historic Preservation Officer, May 5, 2010, <br />stating: "that portions of this project area may fall on land managed by the White River <br />National Forest.") No evidence could be located in the Amendment that the <br />appropriate staff or officials of the White River National Forest were notified. <br />The Amendment contains significant misrepresentations concerning a trail in the <br />affected area. As this trail traverses the McIntyre lands it is a private trail. As it <br />traverses the quarry area and Forest, it is a public trail. This public portion of the Trail is <br />misrepresented on Map C-2 (Mining Conditions Map, 4/30/10) only as "Historic Trail" <br />without stating its true dedicated public nature. (See attached Additional Settlement <br />Agreement, April 2001 and Loesby, Sierra Minerals letter, March 14, 2001. Quarry <br />landowner, OMYA, and previous operator, Sierra Minerals, dedicate Trail in perpetuity <br />to public uses through a court-approved settlement agreement with Gunnison County <br />and the United States Forest Service.) Moreover, the Amendment offers no explanation <br />for why the quarry needs to extend its permit boundaries to encompass the public Trail. <br />Further, the Amendment's assertion that the "recreational use trail that has historically <br />been used by hikers to view the quarry area has been abandoned for some time" is <br />wrong. Until last year, when "mine waste material was dumped over the eastern edge <br />of the site and was deposited beyond the permit boundary," the Trail was used by <br />thousands of individuals annually. (Board Order, Sept. 4, 2009, ¶ 10). The Gunnison <br />County Board of Commissioners issued a temporary closure of the area to allow for <br />repairs. (Gunnison County Board Resolution # 36, Sept. 1, 2009.) The area, however, is <br />set to reopen to the public September 1, 2010. <br />Similarly wrong, at page 12 of the Amendment, is the depiction of the Trail as it <br />traverses private adjacent land. First, while the Trail is temporarily gated, the gate was <br />installed last year in response to the Quarry damage. (See DRMS report and photos, <br />May 2009.) Prior to that damage, thousands of people annually visited the area and <br />used the Trail to access the National Forest and Wilderness areas as well as to view the <br />area's historic quarries. Many of these visitors continue to contact us wishing to use the <br />trail over our land again. (Please see www.marbleguarrytraii.com for more information <br />THE M C I N T Y R E LAW O F F I C E <br />3