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approximately 3.5 acres of Begay Fine Sandy Loam, 1 to 3 percent slopes (map unit 98A) on the <br />WFC property in the far northwest corner of the permit area. A smaller area of Begay (98A) soil <br />on the Lloyd property was not considered to be prime farmland. <br />The 1998 survey by IRI identified Darvey-Bari complex (98E) soils in three separate areas, as <br />shown on Map 2.04.9-1: 1) approximately 5.8 acres straddling 2700 Road, immediately south of <br />Tuttle Draw; 2) approximately 17 acres on the Benson parcel north of BB Road and east of 2700 <br />Road; and 3) approximately 87 acres on the Morgan parcel south of BB Road and west of 2700 <br />Road. In a letter dated June 27, 2008 (Attachment 2.04.9-6), the NRCS determined that the 5.8 <br />acre area was not considered prime farmland because historically, these areas were not managed <br />as cropland and lacked sufficient water for irrigation. The Morgan property acreage was <br />confirmed to be prime farmland. The 17 acres on the Benson parcel was not evaluated, as it had <br />previously been mined and reclaimed. <br />The NRCS positive determination in February 2008 for prime farmlands caused the Division to <br />require that WFC immediately revise the permit to address soil handling and management <br />practices. This was accomplished with Technical Revision No. 57 (TR-57). Topsoil salvage and <br />management plans are discussed in Section IV. of this document. The revegetation methods and <br />plans for the prime farmlands are addressed in PR-6 and discussed in Section VII. of this <br />document. All prime farmland requirements are addressed in Section 2.06.6 of the permit and in <br />Section XVIII. of this findings document. <br />F. Vegetation and Land Use <br />The natural vegetation in the Nucla area was pinyon juniper woodland and Great Basin <br />sagebrush. Over 100 years of intensive agriculture in the area has resulted in only scattered <br />remnants of the native vegetation types. Prior to agricultural conversion sagebrush shrublands <br />occupied the park-like areas with deeper soils and more gentle slopes while the more broken <br />upland areas with shallow coarse textured soils were occupied by the pinyon juniper woodlands. <br />In the baseline surveys, six general vegetation types were found on the New Horizon Mine 2 <br />area: irrigated pasture, irrigated hay land, irrigated cropland (small grains), swale/drainage, <br />sagebrush/grass, and various miscellaneous types related to old farmsteads, abandoned orchards, <br />and disturbed areas. The Mine 2 area has been intensively developed for agricultural uses, <br />including substantial acreage of irrigated hay cropland and irrigated pastureland. There are <br />smaller acreages of sagebrush/grass type, swale drainages, and various miscellaneous cover <br />types interspersed among the developed agricultural lands. <br />Irrigated agriculture supporting livestock pasture and alfalfa hayland was the dominant land use. <br />Other land uses such as grazing of sagebrush habitats and wildlife use are largely incidental to <br />management associated with the irrigated lands. <br />Post-mining, WFC is proposing to reclaim the land to irrigated pasture, irrigated cropland- <br />alfalfa hay and dryland pasture. The distinction between irrigated cropland and irrigated <br />pastureland is that more intensive management practices are allowed for cropland. All prime <br />18