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Alternative :3_ The effects fur Alternative 3 are the same as for Alternative 2 except that the risk to public safety would be less in that the access to the project area would be along the F:ft 7l t t.o FR 711.2b, then on West Flatiron road, which is currently closed to public use in full sized vehicles. The access would be out of the area that receives the most hunter ttse along FR 711 (Dry Fork). The proposed access off the West Flatiron road would leave the vicinity of drill site 14- 05 acrd traverse to a :;addle at the head of.Long Draw, and then traverse along the nonh hillslope to access the drill pad locations. This potential alignment would generally follow a pioneered ?.TV route into Long Draw. The road would be constructed on the north lullslope of Long Draw. The road alignment may need to traverse the bottom of the drainage to maintain grade, and may impact some of the riparian vegetation. This aligmnent would not open new areas to ATV use, and would be closed yeazlong to the public. Road alignment will be placed in the field to ensure proper placement to ensure minimal surface impact. Obliteration of this road has a much higher chance of success due to placement on a sideslope. This topography is much easier to bring back to contour and keep motorized use from utilizing. Placing the road in thick oakbrush also has a much higher chance of obliteration success because oakbn~sh comes back easily and prolifically after disturbance. Under this alternative, long temr access needs would be the same, however the.access along FR 711 (past F'R 711.2b) would not be needed, the West Flatiron road access would be used. 3.D.3 Cumulative Effects : Most road use in the project and surrounding area concentrates on FR 71 1, lesser use is seen on FR 711.2b. FR 71 1 is used by range and other permittees, hunters and other recreationists, although the majority of use is during hunting season. Increased traffic due to drilling activities under Alternative 2 would increase use on the most used area. Under Alternative 3, the cmnulative use of roads in the area would decrease, as the drill traffic would use one major ingress and egress on West Flatiron road. There is a potential for increasing the risk to public safety simply from more users on the roads at the same time. These risks will be most prevalent during hunting season, however these are mitigatable. The potential additional GVB drilling over panels 16, 17 and El (the remaining panels in this longwall district, panels 17 and El are partially covered by the lease modificatio~is) is estimated to require reopening about 2.3 miles ofpreviously used drill hole access roads. and may require 4.5 miles of new temporary road construction to access 26 GVB locations. Mining in panels 16 and 17 is expected to begin in August 2002 a~td run through about November 2003. The reopening of the 2.3 miles of existing road would not acid to overall existing road density. New temporary access (4.5 miles) would be 30