Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
Construction and operation of the mine would last longer than 10 years and, thus, the duration
reaches the long-term criteria. The maximum extent of impacts would be the viewshed for the
two shaft headframes, as they are the tallest facilities in the proposed mine plan.
Figure 68 shows in red the area that would have their viewshed altered by the proposed action.
This area includes the top of Mt. Taylor but does not include any major roadways or other heavily
used areas and, therefore, the extent is still small. Severe uniqueness is due to the location of the
proposed action partially within the Mt. Taylor Traditional Cultural Property and its proximity to
Mt. Taylor itself. As seen in figure 68, the mine would be visible from the top of Mt. Taylor. As
discussed in the “Cultural Resources” section of this report, many Native American tribes in the
area use Mt. Taylor for traditional ceremonies and place a high value on the intactness of the
whole Mt. Taylor area. Even though the proposed mine may occur in only a small fraction of the
viewshed from Mt. Taylor, its mere existence in the viewshed would be enough to impact the
aesthetic experience for these tribal users. For the discussion of potential impacts to cultural
resources, see the “Cultural and Historic Resources Section.” Using the signifance criteria
outlined in table 71 specifically for visual resources, the overall impacts from alternative 2 would
be adverse but less than significant. Table 72 outlines the level of impacts at each phase.
Table 72. Levels of impact for visual resources
Magnitude Duration Extent Likelihood
Mine Development
Precedence
and
Uniqueness
Impact
Rating
Moderate Medium term Small Probable Severe Insignificant
Mine Operation
Moderate Long Term Small Probable Severe Insignificant
Mine Reclamation
Minor Medium Term Small Probable Severe Insignificant
Overall
Moderate Long Term Small Probable Severe Insignificant
368 DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest