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Mike Boulay -12- April 11, 2011 <br />Survey mapping for the area of the proposed permit, the dominant soil type within <br />the native greasewood community is Skumpah Silt Loam 0-2% slopes, with a small <br />acreage of Sagers Silty Clay Loam Saline 0-2% slopes located along the northwest <br />boundary of the previously disturbed area, to the east of Reed Wash. A significant <br />portion of the irrigated runoff wetlands between Reed Wash and Loma Drain are <br />mapped as Cojam Loam 0-2% slopes on the Web Soil Survey mapping. These <br />areas all appear to have been mapped as Billings Loam to Silty Clay Loam in the <br />baseline soil survey (although there is some apparent disparity between map and <br />text of the report with respect to the Irrigated Wetland areas). Narrow bands of <br />Torrifluvents were mapped along the riparian area within the incised Reed Wash <br />drainage (and apparently within the Loma Drain riparian zone as well, although this <br />is not entirely clear from the report narrative). <br />Please revise the Soils baseline map and report, as well as related narrative <br />in Section 2.04.9, to reflect use of the current NRCS soil survey for initial <br />map unit boundaries for the lands subject to the site specific baseline soil <br />survey, or provide explanation and justification for use of the earlier NRCS <br />survey as the basis for initial soil mapping. Similarly, for those lands within <br />the permit area that were not subject to site specific baseline soil survey <br />(lands not proposed for surface disturbance), please revise the map to <br />reflect the current NRCS soil survey mapping, unless justification for use of <br />the earlier NRCS soil survey can be provided. Please verify that the site <br />specific baseline survey extended far enough to the west to include the <br />margins of the Irrigated Wetlands vegetation type that would be crossed by <br />the rail spur, and please delineate the boundary of the detailed baseline <br />survey area on Map 6. <br />CAM: The baseline soil survey used for the Fruita Loadout project was a new, <br />detailed Order 1-2 soil survey completed in 2010 by James Nyenhuis, Certified <br />Professional Soil Scientist (ARCPACS #2753). The previous 1978 NRCS soil <br />survey of Mesa County was used for background information (literature review) but <br />the actual completed survey for the project was a new, stand-alone soil survey with <br />three soil description/sample sites at representative locations. Neither the 1978 <br />soil survey, nor the newer revised (on line) Web Soil Survey, had any soil <br />description or sample sites on the project area. The revised (on line) survey was <br />not available at the time of the 2010 field work, and a recent review of it questions <br />whether any actual field work was completed on the Fruita Loadout area. Both <br />Skumpah silt loam (Map Unit BcA) and Sagers silty clay loam (Map Unit BcS), <br />dominant soils on the project area based on the Web Soil Survey, were mapped <br />across both native lands and the previously disturbed "Land Farms" area in the <br />same delineations. If the Web Soil Survey can't distinguish between obviously <br />disturbed land and native land, then the mapping probably was done from the <br />office and not on the ground. The Billings loam to silty clay loam soil, which was <br />site-specifically mapped on the ground for the current survey, was previously <br />mapped on the area during the 1978 NRCS survey, and it was also mapped on the