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<br />CHAPTER III AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT <br />Action and "No Action" alternative could affect coldwater sportfishing in <br />Flaming Gorge, Ruedi, and the Aspinall Unit reservoirs and their tailwaters as <br />well as warmwater sportfishing within the Upper Basin (Figure III-I-1). <br />Table III-I-1 <br />Projected Demand for Fishing <br />in the Upper Colorado River Basin, <br />1965-20201/ <br />Thousands <br />of <br />Year Angler-days <br />1965 3,549 <br />1980 4,522 <br />2000 6,505 <br />' 2020 8,666 <br />1/Adapted from U.S. Water Resources <br />Council, Upper Colorado Region State- <br />Federal Inter-Agency Group/Pacific South- <br />west Inter-Agency Committee, 1971 Upper <br />Colorado Region Comprehensive Framework <br />Study Main Report, Washington, D.C. <br />' I. Coldwater SPortfishing <br />' The three reservoirs and their tailwaters provide angling opportunities <br />for rainbow, brown, lake, cutthroat, and brook trout and kokanee salmon. <br />Flaming Gorge Reservoir supports a quality fishery for lake trout and <br />provides fishing opportunities for rainbow, brown, cutthroat, and brook <br />trout and kokanee salmon. The reservoir is classified as a Class 1 <br />Fishery Water by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, meaning the <br />' reservoir supports heavy fishing pressure and large populations of one or <br />more fish species. During 1982, over two-thirds of a million angler-hours <br />of recreational use were estimated for the reservoir (Wengert 1985). An <br />estimated harvest of over 161,500 sport fish (primarily rainbow trout), <br />which totalled 193 thousand pounds, was taken from the reservoir in 1982. <br />The Flaming Gorge tailwater fishery constitutes about one-half of the <br />total river miles designated as Class 1 Fishery Waters in Utah. This <br />designation is given only to streams that provide high quality angling <br />opportunities. The tailwater provides good opportunities to catch <br />rainbow, brown, cutthroat, and brook trout. In 1984, the tailwater trout <br />fishery provided over 128,800 angler-hours of recreation, the largest <br />value yet recorded. <br />III-29