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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I The commercial uses of these areas will increase as well. Gravel mining is a major commercial and economic factor in floodplain areas along the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Mining constituted about 1 % the of jobs in Mesa County in 1996 and was one of the highest paying occupations in the area (Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce 1997). The floodplains along the Green River are used primarily for agriculture. Hay is produced and harvested as food for livestock. These areas are also used for grazing livestock during the late fall, winter, and spring. This natural forage is supplemented with the hay produced during the growmg season. To the extent possible, the proposed project is designed not to interfere with farming, grazing, or mining, especially where these activities are determined to be mutually beneficial. Increasingly, setting aside open space is being viewed as a way of improving the quality of life. Healthy rivers and riparian corridors have become a source of civic pride to area residents. This project seeks to complement these actions along the rivers of the Upper Colorado Basin . Alternative 1 - No Action. Under the No Action alternative, socio-economic trends would continue as before. Floodplain landowners would continue to buy and sell lands as in the past. Landowners would not be afforded the opportunity of participating in the Program, of selling easements while retaining title to their properties, or of making money while continuing to own their lands and keep their lands in production. Current floodplain activities such as agriculture, grazing, and gravel mining, would continue as before. Floodplain inundation would continue to occur during spring runoff except where levees have been constructed. In those areas where levees have prevented the annual flushing of accumulated salts, however, the resulting soil and crop damage will likely continue as sub-up water continues to bring dissolved salts to the surface. Development within the floodplain will likely continue as before, subject to local, State, and federal floodplain regulations. Risks of flooding and flood damages may ultimately increase as the river channel becomes further confined by levees and other flood control measures. Recreational activities within the floodplain would continue to occur where permitted by landowners. If the Recovery Program cannot achieve and sustain recovery of the endangered fishes via nonflow alternatives, then more emphasis would need to be placed on flow-related alternatives. This may not affect the States' ability to develop their full compact entitlement, but it could affect priorities within the Recovery Program. Continued growth and development within the floodplain would result in additional habitat degradation, which would not only impede efforts to recover the endangered fishes, but also may lead to the decline and listing of other native species. Population growth and tourism would likely proceed as projected. However, both could level off or even decline if environmental health, area aesthetics, or perceived quality of life began to decline. Alternative 3 - Protection and Enhancement of Flooded Bottomlands by Acquisition Lands and easements will be acquired only from willing landowners that are interested in participating in the project. Participating landowners would be compensated for the rights they sell to the Program. Lands which are not acquired by the project will not be affected. On acquired lands, floodplain activities which would adversely affect endangered species and their habitats would be restricted. This would not III-3