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i R The constraints to haul road and access road locations have already been listed in Chapter O: Mitigation/Fish and Wildlife Protection Plan, page O-1, first paragraph. It was also explained that the roads and the surface facilities for the Meeker Area Mines all aze located or will be located near the state highway in the Curtis Creek Valley bottom (see v.II, Exhibit C-6 (2 maps). While road locations aze severely constrained by the steep, nazrow valley, coal outcrop locations and the OSM Class I and Class II road design criteria, operation speeds of 25 mph will avoid or minimize impacts to big game as well as other wildlife species. It is not felt that any alternative road locations that achieve the same objectives would alter the impact on big game. Big game still will be able to migrate along the upper undisturbed hillsides of the valley, move east or west to the next drainage to migrate north and south or move through the valley bottom in disturbed azeas. Elk and mule • deer tracks and scat aze evident at the edges of the Rienau No. 2 Mine sediment ponds where the animals come to water on the east side of the highway, and on the diversion ditch above the Rienau No. 2 Mine on the west side of the highway, which big game aze using as a "freeway" to move north and south azound the mine. It is assumed that the planned diversion ditch above the Northern No. 2 ~4ine (P-Seam) and the Northern No. 3 Mine (J-Seam) would be similazly utilized for north-south big game migration. Northern assumes the reference in the second paragraph was to 30 CFR 817.97(d)(5) which requires enhancement of ripazian azeas, if practicable. The major problem with planting riparian bushes and trees is that they are phreatophytes and would partially refute Northern's efforts to augment surface flow for the benefit of downstream water users. Northern does aot consider this idea practicable, considering the critically over-appropriated nature of 7-13