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managed by the Town of Fairplay, which offers gold panning, nature trails, picnicking, fishing, and an <br />outdoor concert series. This recreation site is approximately 650' away from the proposed project. <br />Environmental Effects <br />Proposed Action: <br />Direct Impacts: For the duration of mining activities, there would be a direct loss of five acres <br />of public land available for public recreation use. There would be no loss of trails, roads or other <br />recreation facilities. Access to the remainder of the 80 acre BLM parcel would still be available in <br />other locations where it is directly adjacent to county roads however, the homeowners in the nearby <br />new subdivision would most likely lose their current access due to the project and land ownership <br />patterns. The undeveloped open space characteristic of the 5 acres would be lost along with the area <br />near the proposed access road. Following the life of the mining operation, the area would be <br />rehabilitated and be available for recreation use similar to or better than current conditions. <br />Indirect Impacts: Through the proposed action the undeveloped open space characteristic of <br />the 5 acres and the area adjacent to the proposed access road would be transformed into more of an <br />industrial setting including an increase in dust, noise, and traffic. This change in setting would most <br />likely affect not only the direct project area but also the lands directly adjacent to the project where <br />recreation would be less desirable due to the noise and dust. There would most likely be a decline in <br />recreation use from nearby residents. The remainder of the 80 acre parcel would remain unaffected. <br />Mitigation measures identified in the noise, socio- economics, visual resources, and air quality sections <br />would reduce the levels of these indirect impacts to recreation. See the Socioeconomic and <br />Environmental Justice Report located in Appendix 3 for indirect impacts to socioeconomics of the area <br />as they relate to recreation resources. <br />The dust and noise from the proposed action may have indirect impacts to other nearby <br />recreation resources including Fairplay Beach. Mitigation proposed for Noise and Air Quality would <br />reduce these impacts. As the town of Fairplay continues to actively promote tourism for economic <br />development it is anticipated that visitation to Fairplay Beach will increase over time. Effects on air <br />quality and noise are analyzed in those respective sections. It can be extrapolated that impacts <br />identified in these sections would be similar to Fairplay Beach, but at much reduced levels since it's <br />down a steep hill approximately 30 feet below grade of where the project is proposed. <br />Cumulative Impacts: None. <br />Mitigation/Residual Effects: Allow for public access from the closest subdivision where the <br />BLM parcel is accessible from the public road or work with a landowner in the area to secure nearby <br />public access to the remainder of the BLM parcel. Incorporate identified mitigations to air, quality, <br />noise and visual resources to minimize impacts to recreation resources in the area. <br />No Action Alternative <br />Direct and Indirect Impacts: Since the No Action Alternative would still allow for placer <br />mining, impacts would be similar to the proposed action. The stockpiles of waste rock would likely be <br />larger and more visually intrusive leading to an increase in indirect impacts from visual contrasts. See <br />the Visual Resources section for impacts to visual resources. <br />48 <br />