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001557 Recreation Resources Dam Removal: With the dam removed, the Colorado River elevation at the Ute Water pump plant would be lower at all flow conditions. Flood flow elevations at the pump plant would be reduced by approximately 1.5 feet by removing the dam. Dam removal would, therefore, provide some additional protection from flooding. In conjunction with dam removal, one of the options for protecting the ability of Ute Water to pump from the Colorado River (see page 14) would be implemented. Protection from flooding as described above would not change if option 1 or 2 was used. However, option 3, which involves constructing a low head dam immediately downstream from the pump plant, would not change existing river elevations, and would not provide any protection from flooding. Recreation Resources River Boating Issue: Effects on Colorado River boating in the Grand Valley vicinity. Existing Conditions: The Colorado River provides recreation opportunities for a growing population with an increasing interest in whitewater boating. The 8-foot-high Price- Stubb Diversion Dam is an extremely dangerous barrier to river navigation, and boaters must currently trespass to portage around the dam. No established take-out sites are near the dam; an undeveloped access site exists about 0.6 miles downstream. The dam is at the lower end of DeBeque Canyon, which runs about 23 miles from the Town of DeBeque to the Town of Palisade. Through most of the canyon, the river is bordered by Interstate 70 on the left bank of the river, and the Union Pacific Railroad on the right bank of the river. A potential take-out/put- in site within the canyon is at Island Acres State Park, about 3 miles upstream from the dam; however, there currently is no established boat ramp or boat launch site (telephone conversation with Colorado State Parks, 2/24/99). Limited access and the navigation barriers of the GVIC Diversion Dam, Price-Stubb Diversion Dam and Grand Valley Project Diversion Dam have made recreational boating impractical in this stretch of the river. For a variety of reasons, there is less recreational boating on the Colorado River in DeBeque Canyon and within the Grand Valley than in the Glenwood Canyon, Ruby Canyon, and Westwater Canyon areas (described below). Glenwood and Westwater Canyons have superior river conditions for whitewater boating and are advertised by the commercial rafting industry. Ruby Canyon is very scenic and provides access to a wilderness study area. The Colorado River is primarily flat water (Class I), for about 25 miles from Island Acres State Park to Lorna, Colorado. There are a few Class IT rapids in this section, depending on river flows (see information block on River Difficulty Classes). Though recreational use data is not available for the Colorado River upstream of the GVIC Dam at Palisade; the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) estimated there were approximately 300 to 400 float trips annually. Little 25