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Role of Forest Service The u.s. Forest Service has been an Integral part of the team of agencies working on the Dolores Project for many years. Because much of the land Involved In the project Is or wID be part of the Sao Juan Natlooal Forest, Forest Ser- vice Resource Mansgers hsve provided extensive In- IormaUon 1Bl the ares's recresUon potentIsI, wUdIlfe, . trees, forsge, eoJIs, and Its watershed. . 0ffJcIsIs of the NsUonsI Psrk ServIce and the Forest ServIce conducted the flrst jolnt study of the project's recreation potential In June 1981. ThIs InIUsl study, which found the ares well suited for s vsrlety of outdoor recresUon, WIS reported In 1981. Soon after, the Forest Se.... vice prepared Its first report lBlthe Impscts 00 the Dolores Project 00 the NsUonsI Forest resources, SInce these early studies, recresUon planners, wildlife biologists, hydrologists, foresers, landscspe ar- chitects, and many other Forest ServIce llpoM.UatB hsve worked long snd hard on the project. The Final Environmental lmpsct Statement Issued In Msy 1977 reflects a grest deal of the coocerns that the forest service and the other agen- . e1es have for assuring that the environment Is csrefuIIy coosIdered. The project wID receive water from over 850 squsre miles of watershed. Of that acreage, over 70 percent Is NsUooslForestLand. The Forest Service Is mansgIng the watershed un- der multiple use management. Forest Service news release stated: "The Forest Service recogoIzes the lm- portance of these lands and realizes that the msnner In which the land and resources are used wID have s direct ef- fect upon the !He of the rese.... voir and other resource developments. .. It Is emphasized that the management of the Dolores Project's wstershed will alwsys be s msjor concern of the Forest ServIce. 10 sddltlon to the direct concern for the management of the project's wstersbed, the Forest Service wID sIso be directly Involved with protecting and sdmlolsterlng publiC recrestJon use assocJsted with the project. Under an sgreement with the Buresu of RecIsmsUon, the Forest Service wID be responsible forthe design and construction, as weUss main- tensnce of sl1 needed recrestloo facilities. It Is sn enormous tlSk, for the recresUoo future of McPhee Reservoir Is tremendous. Using s complicsted snslysls technique, the Forest Servlc bss been sble to project the type of recrestloo snd quantity of recresUon use snticlpsted. The flrst yesr use, upoo opening be McPhee Rese.... voir, Is expected to be 98,662 visitor dsys. (A visitor dsy Is equs1 to one person spending 12 hours on the site.) The initial usesge below the McPhee Dsm has slso been determined. Fishing, genersl esmplng connected with flsbIng, basting, and csm- ping, related to white wster basting, are the expected recresUoo uses In this ares. These uses wID totsl sp- proxlmstely 12,712 visitor dsys. Therefore, the totsl combined annual recrestion use for the reservoir and downstresm sress bss been projected IS 111,394 visitor dsys. The estlmsted use five years sfter the reservoir is completed Is expected to be 157,450 visitor dsys. Using these projections, it was determined that f448,361 wo.... th of recrestloo benefits could be expected In the first year with IncrelSed economic benefits anUclpsted In the future. The Forest Service hss slso msde some projecUons 00 future bast usesge. 10 order to do this, two groups, high speed basts (water skUng and power basts) and wakeless basts (ssIllng and fishing) were identified. The rese.... voir was then sosIyzed using primarlly koowledge of the reservoirs' conflgursUon and water depths In order to zooe 1,812 seres for high speed basting and 1,020 acres for low speed basting. These scresges were then used IS the hssIs for determining the allowsble basting use for the reservoir snd type of fscilitles requested to msln- tsIn tbe snticipsted basting. Slxty-nlne high speed basts and 510 low speed basis are expected to be sble to use the reservoir st ooe time without csuslng overcrowding or other problems. As s result of this detennlnsUoo, two bast rsmps with 12 launching 1snes wID be necesssry to fscilitste safe basting st the reservoir. The snticlpsted recrestionists sre going to need csmplng and picnic grounds and the Forest Se.... vice is busily planning 250 csmplng units and 60 picnic units for the ultlmste development of the reservoir and the downstresm areas. The InItlsl development, however, wl11 Include sp- proxlmstely 200 csmplng snd 40 picnicking units. other recresUon fsciliUes planned Include oesrly 10 miles of trails, 8 water system, toilets, sewage facilities, overlooks, dlrecUon signs, and visitor Informstloo and interpretive signs. Yet another Important part of the Forest Service's In- volvement In the Dolores Project Is wildlife msnsgement. Working cooperstlvely with the Colorsdo Division of Wildlife, U.S. Fish sod Wildlife ServIce, and the Buresu of ReclamsUon, tha Forest ServIce has developed wildlife management p1ans for the Isnds scqulred by the Buresu of RecIsmsUon to mitlgste the .... of bsbltst csused by the reservoir. These areas wID be managed prImsrIIy to provide wIoter forage for deer and elk. Fall and spring forsge wl11 sIso be available,. however, and IIlSIlJ' other species of wlIdlIfe wID benefit from the totsI wildlife projects.