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m -Montezuma Valley Journal-Fri., August24,l98f Maior recreation, cu Ituralgains coming from Dolores Proiect In additioo to its buic pur- poae of providing IrrIgalloo and municipal.indu.strial water to alarga part of Mon- tezuma and Dolores countiea, the Dolores Project wtI1 create milllonlI of dollars worth of benefit. in ........tlonaI, cu1turaI and flahandwlldllfafacllillea. Among the gainI: a new D1lISeUDl to be called the AnaaazI Heritage Ceoter, major recreation area. around McPhee Reservoir, a ftlIh and wOdllfe refuge at DaW8Oll. draw, and greatly Inlproved roada Into the San Juan NationalForest. - Now under conatruct1on two miles west of Dolores at the Eacalaote Rulna, the 4$,5IJO..square-foot Anasazl Harltaga Ceoter wtI1 houae artifact! from one t:I. the largest archaeological recovery programIJ In the nation. Construction of McPhee Dom and Reaervolr and the Great Cut Dike, 8B well 88 olher paris of the. Dolores Projecl, made tt neceaaary for the archaeological recovery program 88 required under federal reclamaUonlaws. It Is being buill under the direction of the Bureau of RecIamaUon, but wtI1 be ataf- fed by the Bureau of Land Management. Tba center Is being bullt In- to the s1da of the hill on top of , whlch the Escalante ruins lie. Its lower floor will be un- derground. An outstanding view will be found from the front of the HerIlage Ceoter. Tbe front pari of the Illruclurea wtI1 be curved like the kivas 01. the AnaaazI IndIana and wtI1 cen- ter around a round plaza. Plans caD for a curved lob- by with many windows, a sales space for boots and other materials about the center and Indians, a large exhibit hall, a mu1tip~ pl1I'pQge room, a theater, a library, and an ad. mlnlalraUon wing houalng of. flees, conference room, research space, catalollDl space, pboto lab, con- ......tIonlab,and~ atorag. apace. Tba bulldlng wtI1 be of native saodstooe and the dealgn wtI1 refIacI a South- woatern olylo of arcbItocture 88 well as AnasazL . Recreatloo areas on two aIcIoa of and downatream fnJm McPhee Reaervolr are being constructed under the direction of DuRee, but will be mainlalnod and operated by the u.s. Forest Service. McPbee RecreatiOn Area, now under construction, is Iocatad weal ofDoloroa on the south side of McPhee Reset- voir. Included are a boat ramp, parking Iol, 2O-famlIy cam. pground, 2Mamlly ptcnlc groWJd, group camping and picnicking facility (by........ vat1on), scenic overlook from where one can.see In all dlrec- U..., Intarprell.. algoa at the over1ooll, fluah toUel reItrooms. sewage plant. drinking fountains and hydranls. Wort on McPhee is ex- poctad to be completed by nex1;year. House Creek Recreation Area, to be located on UJe east aide of McPhee Reservoir northwest of Dolores, is acbeduled to be contracted next year. n willlnclude a boat ramp, perldng lo~ a 45-unit famlly campground, >><mIt family picnic ground, group ..... ping and plcnicklng faelliU.. and vault toilets. The boat ramp is under construction, 88 is the road from the DoIo....Norwood Road to the site. In addition, the Forest Ser- vice is In the process of designing olher flal1lng a.. cess routes to McPhee Reser- voir: County Road 27, the old McPhee road; Dry Canyon switchbeckaeaslandJuat upriver from the diun; C0un- ty Road X juat norlh of Great cut Dike, with access over the dike; the fonner Colo. 145 road west of Dolores at Big Bend; and the Jandfill area at Dolores, part of the city park thetownlBp1annl.ng. Dolorea Is also gotling another beoellt from the IoJ1. dfill: a new sewage treat- ment plant Is being bullt fur.. ther west of town. Four recreation sites, are planned downri... from Mc- Phee Dam with ftahermen and others able to take ad- vantage of the valley from the dam 11 mllea downatream toBradftoldBrldg.. Nearest the dam will be a aile for picnicking, willi In- IorpreU.. algoa aot up teUlng aboulthe Doloroa Projeet. A site by the Bradfteld Brldge wtI1 be for camping and also provide a launchlng area for river rafters. 000 olher of the d0wn- stream sites will be for cam- ping. The sites downriver from the dam will be atarted In 1986 <r1981. -In addition to the House Creek and McPhee recreation areas and the fishing access roads, a major Improvement program Is un- derway on routes In the area north of Dolores. Plans call for paving the Dolores-Norwood Road from Dolores to the House Creek turnoff. The Dolores- Norwood Road wtI1 thee be improved on north to Its in- tersection with the Glade Road. From there, the Glade Road has already been im- proved, including bulldlng of two new bridges, to the Salter Y. From there, a contract bu boon lot for maIdng the old Ormlatoo PoInt _ dri.. InIn a road to the Bradftold Brid&e. Also In that contract Is lmprovtng the Lone Dome Road from Bradftald Brldge upriver to McPhee Dam, wbere the Aug. 2S McPIIoo Domceremooloa will beheld. Another contract will be let f<Jr improYemont of tIJo road weal fnJm BracIfIolcI BrIdge to the county road syatern, wbere Doloroa and Man- ....... County will ....... coals In lmprovtng the roata onwesttoU.s.886. Tbla loop of Improved roada Is to take the plsce of the river road wbicb was clo&ed with the construction of Mc- Phee Dam. OrlllInaIlY, the plan .... to have the road go ..0< the dam, but eq!oeera and geologists found that the makeup of formations at the route where tbe road was to have gone is so unstable it wou1d take mlIll... of dollan to do the job. TakIng the other measures cost conslderably less,offlclalssald. Another section of road has already boon bullland paved toGreat Cut Dike. -McPhee Reservoir will provide a significant late flabery, willi from ~180 to 4,700 acres of water service available with the large ac- tive and inactive pool capacities. Becauae of the fluctuallng water level and lack of spawning areas, fry or fingerling trout wtI1 be ploJ1. ted each year to meet the ex. , poctad flal1lng preaaure. '!be U.s. Flab and WUdllfe Service estimates about 52,000 man daya of fIaI1lng .... nua11ylnthe.....rvoir. An ezce1Ionl atream flabery wtI1beprovtcledlnthe Dolorea RIver below McPhee Reservoir.8J a result of ye8I'- rouncIlIow8 made poasIbIo by atorage ro1oaaoa fnJm Mc- Phee Reservoir. UnW COlt- _oftlJoclam,the river practtcaDy drled up eeeh year after nmoff below the Montezuma Valley Irrtgallon Co. eIlvoraion dam. The Colorado Diviaion.of WDdIlIe will manage the flsberiel of McPhee Reser- voir and the Dolores River and be re!lpoDlible for lIlocklngp--. -DaWlOD Draw Dam is"to be bulll weat of tI10 Roundup, the 1ntersect1on 01. u.s. lI68 and CuJo.I84. A recreation and wildlife ........., the S~UNll:r..reel lake will be at capacity at all times and will not serve for any olher purpoae. The dam wtI1 be 56 feet blgb and 1,085 feel10ng and wtI1 provide a water surface area 01. 21M acres.