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<br />. U L..J II
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<br />CHAPTER 4. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES
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<br />expected as a result of summer marketing measures. The present marketing strategies of the City
<br />of Steamboat Springs and the Chamber Resort Association, which aim to increase summer tourism
<br />in Steamboat Springs, could create additional demand for developed and dispersed recreation in the
<br />Routt National Forest. In order to accommodate this future demand and relieve pressures on
<br />existing facilities in the Buffalo Pass area, the Forest Service is developing the Buffalo Pass Capital
<br />Investment Project. The project is a means of further dispersing visitors throughout the area and
<br />reducing the environmental impacts, associated with the heavy use of the Buffalo Pass area. The
<br />project plans to expand the supply of developed facilities in the Buffalo Pass area and includes a
<br />proposal to enlarge Granite Campground in conjunction with the Fish Creek Reservoir expansion.
<br />The project will also improve access to the area by upgrading Buffalo Pass Road. While the Buffalo
<br />Pass Capital Improvement Project is intended to accommodate the increased use trend in the Buffalo
<br />Pass area by dispersing recreationists, it could result in increased recreational use of the Fish Creek
<br />Reservoir area. Thus, although future increases in recreational use of Fish Creek Reservoir would
<br />result from the mitigation proposed for the reservoir expansion, these increases could occur to some
<br />extent without the project due to marketing measures which increase tourism, and to the Buffalo
<br />Pass Capital Investment Project, which is intended to disperse visitors within the heavily used
<br />Buffalo Pass area.
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<br />4.9.4 Cumulative Impacts
<br />
<br />Use levels in the Buffalo Pass area should steadily increase because accessible recreation opportunities
<br />are in demand and are being targeted by summer marketing measures in Steamboat Springs (See
<br />Section 3.4, Socioeconomics). Consequently, if Alternative B, Proposed Reservoir Expansion, or
<br />Alternative C, Smaller Reservoir Expansion, is chosen, their short term impacts to the secondary
<br />study area and long term impacts to the primary study area could be increased by additional tourism
<br />to the area.
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<br />4.9.5 Mitigation and Enhancements Summary
<br />
<br />Due to the inundation of Granite Campground, under Alternatives B or C, the Applicant would
<br />rebuild the campground above the expanded shoreline. Proposed mitigation for Alternatives Band
<br />C is the same and involves the construction of a new campground at one of two possible relocation
<br />sites. New facilities would include a two-way gravel entrance road, four vehicle access camping sites,
<br />four walk-in tent sites, one composting toilet, a concrete boat ramp (with a length to accommodate
<br />water level decrease of the reservoir during the heavy use recreation season), two picnic sites, 10-12
<br />vehicle gravel parking, and information boards. Both of the roads and the parking facility would
<br />be gravel to reduce possible run-off of petroleum products into the reservoir. The shoreline trail
<br />which currently circles the reservoir would not be rebuilt (the Forest Service has decided to leI the
<br />trail be formed by the users again).
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<br />4.9.6 Unavoidable Adverse Impacts
<br />
<br />H Alternative B or Alternative C is chosen, the unique character of Fish Creek Reservoir would be
<br />altered permanently. As described briefly in this section and in more detail in Section 3.9,
<br />Recreation, Fish Creek Reservoir is a fairly remote recreation area with a limited amount of
<br />developed facilities, and thus provides a rather tranquil and pristine recreation setting. An
<br />enlargement of the reservoir and the subsequent expansion of the developed facilities at the reservoir
<br />would attract more visitors to the area and would, as a result, alter the pristine character of the
<br />recreation setting. As noted above, this could happen to some extent anyway due to Forest Service
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<br />Sepltmber 1993
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<br />Page 4.33
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