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Section 34: Nl /2N' /2. <br />Finding on the Public Land Health Standard #3 for Plant and Animal Communities: <br />Although on a greater landscape scale, the project area continues to provide a functional habitat <br />base for terrestrial wildlife, there is considerable acreage within the lease tract where invasive <br />annual weeds are prevalent and detract from meeting the health standards on a local basis. There <br />is no information to suggest that these conditions result from or are aggravated by the BME <br />operation. The Proposed Action represents a continuation of low - intensity activity and small - <br />scale habitat modification that have been ongoing for three decades. The proposed leasing and <br />development of the Red Wash Tract would involve the installation and reclamation of surface <br />facilities that, as conditioned, would have no measurable short or long -term consequence on the <br />abundance or distribution of any species or the availability or utility of associated habitat. As <br />such, the Proposed Action would be conducted in a manner that would continue to meet pertinent <br />aspects of the land health standards. The No- Action Alternative would be consistent with the <br />land health standards in the same manner. <br />CULTURAL RESOURCES <br />Affected Environment: <br />Human use of the WRFO has occurred for at least 11,000 years, including manifestations of <br />Paleoindian big -game hunting peoples; Archaic hunter /gatherer groups; Fremont <br />horticulturalists /foragers; historic Ute tribes; Euroamerican and other modern peoples. <br />The entire proposed lease area has been covered by recent Class III, intensive pedestrian surveys <br />(Conner and Davenport 2012, Conner, Davenport, and Kramer 2012, Conner, Higginson, <br />Davenport, and Darnell 2012). These surveys have recorded 12 eligible, 2 potentially eligible, <br />and 23 not eligible sites within the proposed lease area. Of the sites recorded there is a much <br />greater number of pre historic and/or protohistoric sites (35) in comparison to historic sites (8). <br />Prehistoric and /or protohistoric sites include open lithic sites, open camps, and sheltered camps. <br />Diagnostics artifacts recorded at these sites include obsidian sourced from Idaho, Wyoming, and <br />Utah, Archaic era projectile points, Fremont ceramics, and Ute ceramics and projectile points. <br />No Traditional Cultural Properties have been identified in or near the proposed lease area. <br />The majority of the sites in the project area are indicative of Ute cultural affiliation. Larger <br />prehistoric sites were interpreted as residential bases in areas where they could procure <br />seasonally abundant resources like pinyon nuts and upland game. The smaller sites were <br />interpreted as short term camps along a trail route that likely ran through the project area. <br />BME currently operates the Deserado Mine, an underground coal mine east of Rangely <br />Colorado, in the WRFO. If the LBA is offered for sale and BME is the successful bidder, BME <br />could add an adjacent lease on to the north end of the current mine operations. The Lease by <br />Application does not authorize any new construction or surface disturbance, therefore it has no <br />potential to effect historic properties, but it gives the lessor rights to the underground coal. A <br />mine plan revision would be required to add the COC74813 lease, a 3,154.76 acres area, to the <br />DOI- BLM -CO- 110- 2012 -0023 -EA 58 <br />