WSP12286 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

The Colorado Wilderness Act of 1980 left the Forest with the Spruce Creek Wilderness Study Area and the Williams Fork Further Planning Area. The Williams Fork Area's suitability for wilderness will be analyzed in the Rout t National Forest Plan because the majority of the designated acreage is on that Forest and the desire is to achieve uniform management direction within the boundaries of a given wilderness. TI1e Spruce Creek Area has been recommended as suitable for wilderness designation by the Administration and will be managed as wilderness in the Plan until Congress acts. Wilderness Just over 30 percent of the Forest, or 712,000 acres, is included in seven wildernesses. They are: Collegiate Peaks, Eagles Nest, Flat Tops, Holy Cross, Hunter-Fryingpan, Maroon Bells-Snowmass, and Raggeds. The Forest Plan will not address the Raggeds which will be covered in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forest Plan. As many of the wilder- nesses are located in part on adjacent Forests, the actual Wilderness acreage for which management direction will be developed in the Plan is 891,493. (In addition, the 8,000-acre Spruce Creek Wilderness Study Area will also be planned for management as wilderness.) Current use on the White River and adjacent Forests' Wildernesses is 717 MRVD's and current estimated capacity is 1,113 MRVD's. It is estimated that projected use will exceed current capacity around the year 2000. Cultural Resources The White River National Forest is rich in cultural history. There is evi- dence through archaeological and historic artifacts and sites that the American Indian and early miners and ranchers played a part in the occupation of the Fores t. Prior to any ground disturbing activities, project sites must be surveyed for archaeological and historic significance. Protection measures are taken when- ever a site is found. Fish and Wildlife The variety of topographic and climatic conditions on the Forest provide suit- able habitat for 307 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Presently, the forested habitat on the Forest is in poor condition for most species due to a lack of diversity. The grassland habitat is in fair to good condition. However, due to human related activity, effective habitat is decreasing. There are about 445,000 acres of big game winter range on the Forest which are able to support about 20 percent of the current big game population. The majority of the winter range is on non-National Forest System lands at lower elevations. As the private land portions of this winter range develops, continued coordination between the Forest, state, and other federal agencies to agree on manageable herd sizes in relation to winter range carrying capacity will increase in importance. 20