Draft Environmental Assesment and Finding of No Significant Impact Gunnision River Activities February 1995

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CHAPTER 3 - AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES General This chapter discusses resources associated with the Gunnison River that could be affected by the proposed actions of constructing a fish passageway and providing water flows through an interim water agreement. The passageway and associated interim water agreement are designed to benefit endangered fish and could affect other resources as discussed below. Concerns have been expressed by the public and other entities (see Chapter 4 on Consultation and Coordination) about some of these impacts, and efforts have been made to address these concerns in this report. Vegetation and Land Use Existing Conditions The Gunnison River Basin is primarily rural. Much of the over 8,000 square mile watershed is National Forest or Bureau of Land Management lands. Valleys are largely private and were originally developed for ranching, farming, and mining. In recent years, recreation, retirement living, and second -home development have become important. In the vicinity of the Redlands Diversion Dam, lands are a combination of parcels privately owned by individuals, sand and gravel operations, or Redlands Water and Power Company; and Federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Southern Pacific Railroad's line parallels the Gunnison River in this area and primarily hauls coal in unit trains. The railroad and the Redlands Diversion Dam are the primary land use. The city of Grand Junction has a water intake structure on the east side of the diversion dam. Immediately upstream on the east side of the river agricultural lands are irrigated; however, future plans are to use this area for sand and gravel mining. There has been some home development on the west side of the river in the last few years. The riparian areas upstream from the Redlands Diversion Dam are dominated by cottonwood trees, willows, Russian olives, tamarisk, wild rose, and skunkbush sumac. Downstream there has been more disturbance to vegetation although bands of willow and bulrush occur. The disturbed areas are vegetated primarily with kochia, bindweed, and grasses and forbs. Away from the influence of the river, vegetation changes to upland communities of greasewood, rabbitbrush, and saltbush. Wetlands in the vicinity of the fish passage include scattered areas of shrub - scrub and emergent wetlands dominated by willows and bulrush, respectively. Also present is a riparian component with a canopy of cottonwoods. 11