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<br />wintering habitat loss in the well field will roughly approximate the impacted areas of <br />two to three of the 5-year mining panels. <br />Aboveground piping within the mine panels may present a physical barrier to mule <br />deer migratory movements within and across the Piceance Site. To mitigate this impact, <br />American Soda will provide main piping crossings that will allow mule deer to move <br />throughout the well field. Crossings will consist of areas where the pipeline will be <br />buried or elevated to allow for mule deer passage. <br />The Yankee Gulch Project will result in some indirect habitat losses associated with <br />animal disturbance from construction and operation of the commercial solution mining <br />facilities at the Piceance Site. During initial construction (including construction of the <br />processing facilities and the evaporation pond), there will be a considerable amount of <br />traffic, human activity, and associated noise. It is likely that mule deer will be <br />temporarily displaced from the construction area for a substantial distance, e.g., from <br />0.5 to 1 mile from the construction activities. The initial construction period at the <br />Piceance Site is anticipated to be about 15 months in duration. Some mortality of mule <br />deer will a:so result from vehicle/deer collisions due to increased levels of traffic at and <br />near the Piceance Site during construction. <br />Initial construction will be the most intense period of activity but will be of relatively <br />short duration. Disturbance at the Piceance Site during commercial operations would <br />also include noise from the process equipment, which would generally be continuous <br />and monotonous in nature. <br />Impacts to mule deer from construction of the pipeline corridor could occur in two <br />ways. First would be disturbance to mule deer populations during construction of the <br />pipelines. However, construction of the pipelines will not be scheduled during winter <br />months and, therefore, will have no effect on mule deer in the section of the pipeline <br />corridor that serves as winter range. Construction outside of winter months would <br />displace some deer near the construction right-of-way but is not expected to be <br />significant due to the availability of alternate habitat and because deer would not be <br />physiologically stressed during these months. <br />The second type of impact would be the long-term change in habitat that would occur <br />from construction of the pipeline corridor. A maximum of 667 acres would be <br />disturbed along the pipeline corridor, based on a maximum construction right-of-way <br />width of 125 feet. In general, habitats will be changed from scrub-shrub to open grassy <br />areas. This represents a relatively small disturbance over the course of the 44-mile-long <br />pipeline and only a minor temporary loss of foraging habitat. <br />Impacts to mule deer at the Parachute Site would be minor because the Parachute Site is <br />already developed, and no significant habitat alterations would occur as a result of <br />additional development of the site. In addition, the area surrounding the Parachute Site <br />H-3 <br />