OCR Text |
Show Most of the substantial recreational benefits directly attributable to the Bonneville Unit would be associated with the utilization of reservoirs and adjacent lands and would be predicated upon some development of supportive facilities such as boat ramps and campgrounds. Much of the proposed recreational development would occur within or very close to the Wasatch Front where the demand for outdoor cecreation opportunities would be greatest. Stawberry Reservoir and Jordanelle Reservoir have substantial potential in this regard. Fishing would be expected to constitute one of the more important uses of the reservoirs along with sightseeing, camping, waterskiing, boating, and picnicking. Recreation studies" 0 have indicated that fishing is the most preferred type of outdoor recreation by State residents, but for nonresident it ranks as the fifth most popular form of outdoor entertainment. A Bureau of Reclamation Survey^^ indicated that for 34,744 water surface acres of reservoirs in Utah about 22 percent of the estimated 1,548,467 annual visitations were for fishing. Other significant uses were sightseeing ( 13.570), camping ( 17.37,), waterskiing ( 15.07,), and boating ( 14.97.) . These figures indicate that the reservoirs would provide multiple types of recreation. Most of the recreational losses resulting from the Unit would be concerned with inundation and reduced flows of streams and inundation of wildlife habitat and esthetically attractive landscape. The losses associated with Utah Lake would be of special importance because the lake is conveniently located within the Wasatch Front where most of the State's population resides. In Utah, special emphasis is given to preserving unaltered quality streams because such streams, particularly larger ones, are in relatively short supply. 73, 112, 128 Natural streams also offer special intangible benefits associated with esthetics and a sense of environmental well- being even to those people who do no actually visit them. Current methods of assessing the total value of a fishing stream appears to be inadequate because they do not sufficiently consider intangible factors. 118 The fishing and hunting losses for the Bonneville Unit were estimated by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and the State of Utah. 1' 112 368 |