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<br />road to an improved standard, Sunnyside would reclaim the road, as <br />needed, to return it to a condition meeting San Juan County Road <br />standards, and the R/K would be relinquished (subject to BLM <br />approval). Subsequent rights to use and maintain County Road 25 <br />would return to San Juan County's jurisdiction. <br />II. Alternatives <br />A. Alternate Routes <br />Any deviations from the proposed route, as applied for, would <br />necessitate additional new construction, a greater amount of <br />surface disturbance and environmental impact and increasf,d <br />expense. The existing road (the proposed route) provide: direct <br />access to the Sunnyside Mine; and minor modifications in <br />alignment and grade, which could be construed as minor <br />alternatives, have been incorporated into the proposed action. <br />Therefore, further discussion of alternate routes is <br />unwarranted. <br />B. No Action Alternative <br />The no action alternative - denying Sunnyside the requested <br />authorization for widening the existing county road - could <br />result in the project being completed without BLH <br />authorization. This would constitute a trespass against ':he <br />United States. <br />In a second interpretation of the no action alternative - if <br />Sunnyside did not upgrade the road - Sunnyside could be <br />prevented from completing reclamation work under its commitment <br />to the NLRD, or the reclamation could require a significantly <br />longer time. <br />III. Affected Environment <br />The affected environment consists of steep alpine and subalpine <br />slopes ranging in elevation from 10,000 feet at the old Eureka <br />townsite to 12,900 feet at the mine portal near Lake Emma. <br />County Road 25 ascends the sideslope crossing talus, pockets of <br />timber and eventually alpine meadoxs. Native vegetation i~ the <br />area has been disturbed many times due to mining activity, and <br />due to the natural forces of avalanches, rockfalls, and waver <br />erosion. Vegetation exists in the undisturbed areas - primarily <br />coniferous trees, willows and other brushy species in the <br />drainages, and heather, grasses and forbs above treeline. Deer, <br />raptors, passerine birds and small mammals live and feed iii the <br />area. <br />~Z <br />