OCR Text |
Show creation of large artificial lakes on reservoirs is of great recreational importance. The higher portions of the basin are fairly well supplied with clear streams and small lakes. The recreational value of a reservoir is dependent to a large extent upon its location, accessibility, the population of the area served, the nature of the reservoir site, and the plan of operation of the dam. The amount of fluctuation of water- surface area and elevation are major factors determining the recreational value of reservoirs, although water temperatures and the fertility of the reservoir sites have an important bearing on aquatic life within them. Potential reservoir sites.- The survey covered about 135 potential reservoir sites. The recreational potentialities of these sites will be considerably increased in a number of cases- particularly the smaller reservoirs- if a dead storage or conservation pool can be assured. A number of reservoirs are proposed in locations where the existing natural features are of greater recreational value than can be expected of the proposed reservoirs. The majority of the proposed reservoirs, however, will create new recreational resources benefiting the basin. Grand Canyon region.- The proposed Bridge Canyon Dam in the Grand Canyon will create a lake 93 miles long at a maximum surface elevation of 1,876 feet. Construction of the dam at the proposed elevation would amount to virtual disestablishment of Grand Canyon National Monument and, in addition, would back up water into Grand Canyon National Park for a distance of about 18 miles. The National Park Service deplores this proposal because for an exclusively economic gain it would substantially alter natural conditions and injuriously affect the natural scenery along the Colorado River as far as the backed- up water would extend. At the same time it is recognized that, even under the present plans for Bridge Canyon Dam. the major portion of Grand Canyon National Park would remain in its natural state. It is realized also that some persons will regard the damage to the natural features partially mitigated by the water recreational opportunities that will accrue. The National Park Service does not believe that these recreational benefits are sufficient to compensate for the loss of natural values and has urged that any dam constructed be at a lower level. A dam at the Marble Gorge site might not be objectionable from the scenic and recreational viewpoint. In fact, a high dam at that site, which would eliminate a dam at the Glen Canyon site, might create a reservoir more adaptable for recreational development and use than a low dam at the Marble Gorge site and a high dam at the Glen Canyon site. On the other hand, the proposed diversion of Colorado River water around Grand Canyon National Park, by a tunnel through the Kaibab Plateau, in order to obtain the benefit of the fall of the Colorado River through the park would be extremely objectionable because it would eliminate the flow of the Colorado River through the most spectacular portion of the Grand Canyon which it formed. All sections of the Grand Canyon are parts of one great physiographic unit. Man- made boundaries mean little as to the relative value of different portions. From the standpoint of the American people as a whole, it is important that the entire Grand Canyon and the bordering portions of plateaus be protected and that appropriate sites be developed for recreation, primarily of the inspirational type. The extension of opportunities to use Grand Canyon, especially the little- known western part, would greatly help in solving the future problem of adequate space for meeting the recreational needs of an increasingly large group. If water- control facilities are constructed in the Bridge Canyon area, the Peach Spring- Diamond Creek area, Granite Park, and the Toroweap- Whitmore Wash area, it appears that they will be suitable places for future major recreational centers in the Grand Canyon. Canyon Lands of southeastern Utah.- The area comprising the Canyon Lands of southeastern Utah, part of the largest section in the United States without improved roads and one of the least known, is a region of the unusual in color and form: of great natural bridges, monuments, spires, deep twisting canyons, mammoth terraces with sheer walls a thousand or more feet high, and rock forms that resemble huge castles and cathedrals. It is a vast unoccupied area of great potential recreational value. Two dams are proposed, one at the Dark Canyon site, the other possibly at the Glen Canyon site 4 miles above Lees Ferry in Arizona, or at an alternate site 15 miles above Lees Ferry. The combined length of both impoundments along the Colorado River would be 279 miles through the Canyon Lands. Although the reservoirs would eliminate for XXI |