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III IIIIIIIIIIIII III Doc Date:12/11/2001 ~j i ~ 0 2.05.5 Postmining Land Uses ' (1) Each plan shall contain a detailed narrative of the proposed use, ^ following reclamation of the land within the proposed permit area, or for underground operations, the land within the permit area to be affected by surface operations or facilities in accordance with land use categories established in the narrative shall include a discussion of the utility and capacity of the reclaimed land to support a variety of alternative uses, and the relationship of the proposed use to existing land use policies and plans. This description shall explain: RESPONSE (1) H-G Coal Company plans to return the disturbed areas to their original use of domestic and wildlife grazing and/or brows- ing, i.e., rangeland cover. Also permanent stock watering ponds are planned. Rangeland is the present and historic land use of the H-G Coal Company site and the entire Williams Fork Mountains. These mountains are drained by the Yampa and Williazns Fork Rivers. The bottomlands and adjacent rolling hills along these rivers • suitable for croplands were planted in the late 1800's and early 1900's under the Agricultural Homestead Laws. Most of the nonfarmable lands such as the rangeland higher in the moun- tains, which includes the mine site area, was acquired for pri- vate ownership through the Stock Raising Homestead Act. Some of the surface was granted to local and state governmental agencies. The BLM controls a great deal of surface in the area adjacent to the mine. Most of the livestock operators in this area have either Bureau of Land Management or Colorado State leases or permits to graze their livestock on public lands in conjunction with their own land. Cattle and sheep generally graze at higher elevations during summer, but at lower and more accessible private land in winter months. The 1,250-acre mine site was part of several privately-owned ranches on which cattle are grazed from May until October, •. depending on the weather. Alternative land uses were considered as follows: