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<br />Ojyiliional Conc"pondcnc~ Only <br /> <br />ILL.,J.~~U-LOLi <br /> <br />Jun I:' . <br /> <br />1:,:U2 NO.UU0 r.UL <br /> <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br />DIVISION OF WILDLIFE <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES <br /> <br />DATE: June 15, 1993 <br /> <br />TO: <br /> <br />Eddie Kochman <br /> <br />Tom powelP'/f <br /> <br />FROM; <br /> <br />SUBJECT: <br /> <br />Response to the Critical Habitat Economic Impact Survey Questionnaire <br /> <br />~.' <br /> <br />I met with Dav~~oo~S~~Oday and provided him with the information that Clee, <br />Dave and I were, ~~mate. Basically ~e "ere ab1~o-provide answers to all <br />the questions in Sections II, III, and IV. In summary it is estimated that 257,000 <br />fishing recreation days would be lost if the critical habitat is designated and <br />current stocking is no longer allowed. We did not provide any estimate of loss of <br />future fishing recreation potential and opportunity which in my opinion should be <br />included. To do so, however, is a policy decision that probably would be based on <br />the planned growth rate detailed in che Division's Long Range Plan. Dave Langlois <br />estimated the loss of 200,000 recreation days as the worst case scenario for the <br />Aspinall Unit (180,000) including the trout fishery in the Gunnison River below <br />Crystal Dam down to che confluence wich the North Fork of the Gunnison (20,000). <br />Dave elso estimated che loss of 50,000 days in the warm water lakes and streams of <br />the Gunnison and San Juan Basins that would no longer be stocked if so decreed due <br />to crielc~l habitat designation. <br /> <br />The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) asswned that the Aspinall Unit would be th" only <br />Colorado hydropower production unit impacted by the critical habitat designation <br />which requires specific flows at specific times. There was no information, <br />therefore, on the possible impacts to reservoir fisheries in the Northwest Region <br />(Colorado River basin above Grand Junction, the Yampa or White Rivers). Clee had ~~,I {I, "- <br />no option but to assume there would be no impacts to fishing recreation days except ." ...- ~ ,'./ <br />, ~'j.,/ ~ no'" '- <br />in the actual critical habitat designation area. This amounts to about 7000 ,',. "r- ,,",.1/ <br />recreation days. Since the BOR was unable to provide information on the exact 1,..1 ? <br />location of ehe 100 year flood plain (proposed cricical habitat area) Clee was notCkJ'5 <br />able to accurately estimate the potential impact to fishtng recreation days and <br />believes chat once that information is available, thera could be significantly more <br />than the 7000 days lost. . <br /> <br />Based on the estimated $114.71 value of a fishing recreation day derived from the <br />1992 edition of the "Hunting and Fishing Industries Economic Impact Model ($52.14 <br />X 2.20 mult:ipl1er -$114.71) we estimated the economic impact of designating critical <br />habitat for the endangered fishes of the Colorado River Basin in Colorado to be <br />$29,480,470 annually with the loss of 257,000 fishing recreation days. <br /> <br />These estimates do not: include the potential losses the commercial fish <br />might experience if they are no longer allowed to stock fish in <br />wichin the critical habitat designated area. <br /> <br />I <br />L <br />E <br /> <br /> <br />T. Nesler <br />D. Horak <br /> <br />'T .- lP-' ~;-o - , . <br />~ f ]111 I; <br />I: ,,~~ ...~.. ~.. .~,. '~''''-J <br />;:~~~L~,'~... d. I <br />,. <br />