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Show nicking, camping, and fishing, and with the reservoir these uses should increase. There were 12,421 people living within easy access of the site in 1940. It is recommended that plans for development of the area include acquisition of all the shoreland and the provision of recreational facilities for public enjoyment of the reservoir including boat docks, swimming beach, picnic areas, camping areas, and the relocation of the present road through the proposed reservoir area to maintain the scenic drive down the Dolores Valley. Other reservoir sites.- Among the sites in the Grand Division that are probably more valuable for recreation as they exist than if dams were constructed are the attractive Eggleston Lake, Lake Brennan, and Lake San Cristobal, and the scenic locations in which Beaver and Banana Ranch Reservoir sites are situated. Missouri Heights Reservoir, as it exists, offers some possibilities for recreation that would not be increased if it were enlarged. The Sapinero Dam would flood a 20- mile section of the extremely popular Gunnison River fishing area and substitute a still- water area which probably would not compensate for the loss of the stream. A dam at the Moab site, just above the Moab Highway Bridge, would eliminate the only scenic drive through one of the impressive canyons of the Colorado River in Utah. The present character of the canyon is undoubtedly more of a recreational asset than reservoirs would be in this location. Several other sites in the Grand Division may not create new values or interfere with existing values. In general, the transmountain diversion projects in Colorado probably will be to the detriment of the recreational values of the region in which they are located. The necessary canals in most cases will cut into attractive mountainsides, and water diverted from the natural channels will decrease the amount available for fishing and other uses downstream. Special studies should be made of the recreational possibilities of areas like Whitewater during the planning stages to insure the maximum benefits. SAN JUAN DIVISION This division includes the San Juan River drainage and the western tributaries of the Colorado River between the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers and Lees Ferry. The major dam and reservoir proposals in this division, Glen Canyon and Dark Canyon Dams in the Colorado River and the Goosenecks, Slickhorn, and Great Bend on the San Juan, are discussed in Chapter VIII. The Bluff Dam in the San Juan River, 12 miles below Bluff, Utah, would create a reservoir with a maximum surface area of 28,500 acres and a minimum area of 7,800 acres. Since the reservoir would be located in a region of very sparse population and is to serve primarily for silt retention and flood control, it is not likely to have much value for recreation. The natural scenic attractions in southeastern Utah and northeastern Arizona will, no doubt, appeal more to the tourists than will this reservoir. Of the other 24 potential sites in this division the O'Neal Park, Howardsville, Hermosa Park, and Mill Meadow sites seem to offer the best possibilities for recreational development and use. They can be definite assets to the recreational resources of the division. O'Neal Park site is in an open, high, mountain valley easily accessible from Pagosa Springs, Colo., and United States Highway 160. The Howardsville site is a short distance up a deep valley from Silverton, Colo., at an elevation of 9,700 feet above sea level. The reservoir could be developed in conjunction with the old mining town of Silverton into an impressive high mountain resort area. Hermosa Park is an attractive basin about 5 miles long and one- half mile wide, bounded on the west and north by mountains which rise to more than 12,000 feet above sea level. A lake occupying part of the basin would add to the numerous existing recreational assets of the region if the preliminary plans for the project providing for a complete drawdown can be changed to include a substantial dead storage pool. A reservoir at the Mill Meadows site on the Fremont River below Fish Lake could add materially to the recreational assets of that popular summer vacation region. The proposed Silverton, State Line, Meadows, Monument Rocks, Recapture, Torrey, and Esca- lante Reservoirs would probably be of local value only. Two natural, high mountain lakes having existing values that would be impaired by enlarge- 122 |
