Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
Specific current recreation uses of the mine permit area in Sections 9 and 10 include hunting and
firewood gathering (Reidy, 2012). It is also likely that general recreation activities such as hiking,
bird watching, and similar activities are also common uses. There is no written documentation of
the details of these current uses in these sections such as numbers of participants or seasonal
variation of visits.
The nearest designated recreation sites within Cibola National Forest are in a southerly direction
from the mine site at a distance of 7–13 miles. These sites include three trailheads, one
campground, one winter sports site, one observation site, and one recreation complex. There are
five other recreation areas that are not managed by the Forest Service ranging from 13 to 33 miles
from the mine site.
Nearby Recreation Areas
El Malpais National Monument in Cibola County and the Chaco Culture National Historical Park,
which has several sites in McKinley County and San Juan County farther north, are the two main
recreational and cultural areas managed by the National Park Service in the project area (NRC,
2009).
Water Canyon Wildlife Area is a nearby 2,840-acre site purchased by the State of New Mexico in
1953 to improve winter range for turkey and provide public access to big game hunting. The
property sits on the side of Mt. Taylor and is covered with a mixture of piñon, juniper, and mixed
grasses and forbs. Supported activities include hunting for elk, turkey, and deer; hiking; camping;
wildlife viewing; and horseback riding. The area is located 50 miles west of Albuquerque via I-40
and local roads (PLIC, 2011a).
Bluewater Lake State Park is a 3,000-acre lake surrounded by piñon/juniper covered hills that
provides fishing, summer sailing, water-skiing and winter ice fishing. It is located 28 miles west
of Grants via I-40 and NM 412 (PLIC, 2011b).
Route 66 Historic Trail follows the remnants of the original
Chicago-to-LA blacktop highway through New Mexico. Scenic
driving is available along a route that is roughly parallel and
sometimes covered by I-40, totaling 373.5 miles from Texas to
Arizona (PLIC, 2011c).
Marquez State Wildlife Area is an area of 15,000 acres with no
facilities. Here there is hunting for deer and elk in season. It is
located north of Laguna Pueblo and Cebolletita (Bibo) via NM 279 and Tribal Road 52 (PLIC,
2011d).
Environmental Consequences
Table 41 shows the resource-specific criteria and definitions for recreation that are used as impact
criteria for of the three alternatives. The basis for describing the overall significance of the impact
to the resource may be seen in the “Methodology” section at the beginning of chapter 3.
260 DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest