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-0-00"'10 TOday the Colo~ado River provides one of the most popular recreation attrac- tions in the western United States. This has not always been the case. When the lower portions of the Colorado River were first eyed as a source of water- for the Southwest, recreation was not in the view. The land adjacent to the river and in the surrounding deserts was both inhospitable and untor- giving. As a result the focus was on survival rather than leisure. The few people who did toil for existence had time for little else. Farming was a sunup to sundown occupa- tion whi~]1 offered scant opportunity for recreational pursuits. In subsequent years, there were an advepture- some few for whom,the river was a source of challenge and recreation. Usually ouly the hardiest of individuals were benefactors of this part . ofthe Colorado River. In contrast to the recre-. ational void which existed in the early 1900s, today the lower reaches of the river offer richly developed recre- ational resources which pro- . vide myriad opportunities to visitors. This has been accomplished by a joint effort: private enterprise working with local, state and federal agencies. Five Department of the Interior agencies have been instrumental in developing recreation along the Colorado River from Lake Powell to the international boundary with Mexico. In addition to the Bureau of Reclamation I and the National Park Service, these include the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildiife Service and . numerous tribal govern- ments working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Collectively there are . about 40 federal recreation . sites in the lower reaclies of the Colorado. Moving upstream on the river, within the states of Colo- rado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, there are 187 recreation sites at 28 Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs. The available opportunities range from fishing and watching wild- life to boating and white- water rafting. Firm development began to take place in 1935 when the Bureau of Reclamation completed Hoover Dam. This long-awaited event fostered rl'creanonal poten- tial in at least three ways. First ittamed the Colorado . River and offered a degree of downstream flood pro- tectiol). Second, the storage system provided both an adequate and reliable source of water upon which communities could depend and grow. And lastly, Hoover and the subsequent dams formed reservoirs and provided relatively stable river flows for recreation. The authorizing legisla- tion for the Boulder Can- yon Project and Hoover Dam clearly spelled out priorities for that project- flood control, water storage and hydroelectric power generation. There were no priorities for recreation, fish and wildlife or environmen- tal coucerns. In the absence of mandates during the early years of Colorado River operations, little thought was. given to areas outside the mandated priorities. This situation changed with the establishment of national recreation areas- by the National Park Service. Lake Mead National Recreation Area was estab- lished in 1964, covering the land surrounding Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. Prior to that, the land around Lake Mead was known as the Boulder Dam National Recreation Area which had been operational since 1936. .,- This was the first l!lfge- scale project on the.river, followed by the 1972 creation of Glen Canyon Nationfll Recreation Area after the 1966 completion of Glen Canyon Dam, which forms Lake Powell, The park-ser- vice also manages eurecanti National Recreation Area in Colorado, created in 1965, which includes three reservoirs on the Oumtison River, a Colorado River tributary. Upper basin opportuni- ties were additionally enhanced by the 1968 establishment of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area on the Green River in Wyoming and Utah. Today Flaming Gorge is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Tied closely to the devel- . opment of recreational facilities is the development of wildlife refuges and the use of the Colorado River for the benefit of wildlife values. Recreationists bene- fit from such management through enhanced opportu- nities to view wildlife and through hunting and fish- ing experiences. In the Upper Colorado Region, Fish and Wildlife operates three national wildlife refuges; one each in Colorado, Utah find Wyoming. The facilities principally benefit migra- tory waterfowl. Also, Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and the various states are involved in recov- ery programs for endan-- gered native fishes in the Colorado system. For many people, the knowledge that the rivers and reservoirs are managed with such a sensi' tivity, and that the pro- .grams are showing sucCeSs, enhances their recreational experience. Finally, management decisions also are made with an eye toward sport fisheries. Some of the best . troUt fishing in Am..ricfl takes place in the.rivers. and,streams below the dams. In addition, a signifi- cant variety of fish can be caught in the reservoirs of the river system, ranging from world-record-sized . lake trout in the colder reservoirs to bass and other warm water fish in the lower l warmer reservoirs. As populations in the. Southwest soar, concern is voiced not only about the urban impacts, but also impacts and pressures which these population centers will place on surrounding land . and resources. The expand- ing po!,>uIations make devel- opment of recreational resources on the Colorado River all the more important. - , ".-.-,-, --",,-.-"-"---"-