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Valley. Native American Indians no doubt inhabited or used floodplains along the Upper Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Some areas where floodplain ponds occur of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers have been drastically altered through gravel mining operations so that any artifacts that may have been present are more than likely either buried or were removed with the gravel. F. Socio-Economic Factors. Gravel mining is the major commercial economic factor in floodplain areas where ponds occur. Mining constituted about 1% of the jobs by industry in Mesa County in 1996 and was one of the highest paying occupations in the area with an average annual wage of about $36 thousand (Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce 1997). Presently, some recreational fishing and hunting occurs in floodplain ponds along the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Most of the recreational fishing in these ponds is for nonnat i ve warmwater fi sh speci es. However, some ponds (e.g., Corn Lake) are presently stocked with large numbers of rainbow trout that test positive for whirling disease and are sought by many anglers. The 1991 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation - Colorado documented that 96.4% of 778,300 Colorado anglers fished for salmonids and devoted 80.7% of nearly 6.3 million angler-days to recreational fishing for salmonids (U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census 1993b). Few Colorado anglers in the Upper Colorado River actively participate in warmwater fishing although opportunities are available to them. Surveys in 1991 estimated that 10,000 to 13,000 anglers fished approximately 66,000 days for warmwater fish species in the Northwest Region of Colorado (Elmblad et al. 1994). The 13,000 anglers comprise 1.7% of the total anglers and 66,000 angler-days comprise 1.1% of the total angler-days of recreation in 1991. A survey of warmwater anglers in Delta, Garfield, Mesa, and Montrose counties concluded that anglers fished most often for catfish (36 percent) and largemouth bass (25 percent; Colorado Division of Wildlife 1996). In ponds that would be reclaimed through Recovery Program efforts, 75 percent supported restocking with largemouth bass, bluegill, and black crappie, 52 percent supported restocking with only trout. Sixty-three percent of the anglers reported that they were satisfied with local fishing opportunities. When asked which type of warmwater fishing opportunity they would like to see, the greatest percentage (44 percent) stated they would like more large reservoirs. Only nine percent of warmwater anglers surveyed in western Colorado reported that they fished in private ponds (Colorado Division of Wildlife 1996). Only one owner with a pond along the Gunnison River reported that his pond was used for fishing, primarily for rainbow trout. The Colorado Division of Wildlife reported that warmwater fishing occurred on 105 surface acres of ponds along the Colorado River. Other recreational pursuits involving wildlife-related activities along the gravel-pit ponds of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers include observing and 12