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Show The National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service have cooperated closely in developing recreational sites on Flaming Gorge Lake. Recreation facilities have been developed at Lucerne Valley, Antelope Flats, Buckboard Crossing, Dutch John Draw, and Cedar Springs, where boat ramps, picnic and campground areas, concession facilities, etc., are available for public use. Boat ramps are in use at three other sites on the central and upper portions of the lake. Basic facilities will be established in these areas as the need arises and funds are made available. 3. Navajo Storage Unit Navajo Dam is now a completed structure in operational status. Completed on August 22, 1962, the 402-foot-high dam was dedicated by Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall on September 15, 1962. Storage of water was initiated on June 27, 1962, marking the first storage of water in a storage unit of the Colorado River Storage Project. Navajo Dam is located in northwestern New Mexico on the San Juan River, 34 miles east of Farmington and 3^ miles downstream from the confluence of the Los Pinos and San Juan Rivers. The dam is a zoned earthfill embankment structure. The reservoir has 1,709,000 acre-feet total capacity and an active capacity of 1,036,000 acre-feet. The major purpose of this reservoir is to regulate the flows of the San Juan River for the authorized Navajo Indian Irrigation Project near Farmington, the San Juan-Chama participating project in the Rio Grande Basin, and the Hammond participating project. Part of the water to be made available will also be used for industrial and municipal purposes in northwestern New Mexico. Recreation Facilities Navajo Lake is proving to be a popular new recreation spot, drawing visitors from many points. Visitation had reached 188,639 persons by the end of August 1966. Recreational areas have been developed in New Mexico on the Pine River Arm just above Navajo Dam and the Sims Mesa Recreation Site on the opposite shore and in Colorado near Arboles on the upper portion of the lake. At the Pine River Site a launching ramp, marina, campground, and picnic areas are now in use. Concession permits for a lodge, restaurant, and service station have been granted, and work on these facilities is planned for the near future. Construction of basic facilities is nearly completed at the Arboles and Sims Mesa Sites. 87 |
