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June 30, 2008 <br />C. Recreation ( Floatboating) <br />Segment 4, Gore Canyon, is one of the most popular Class IV -V whitewater runs in the State. It <br />is mostly visited by advanced -skill level whitewater rafting and kayaking enthusiasts. Gore <br />Canyon is host to the Gore Race, and has been host to the U.S. Whitewater National <br />Championships. Commercial rafting is infrequent in Gore Canyon because of the risk and safety <br />issues associated with this challenging whitewater run. <br />Segment 5, from Pump House to State Bridge, is a popular Class II /III river run. It is heavily <br />used by commercial and private rafters, kayakers, canoeists and anglers. A detailed breakdown <br />of commercial rafting and drift fishing uses from BLM permit records for 2005 show <br />commercial user days on the order of 30,000. Ninety percent of the use was commercial boating <br />(kayaking, rafting, canoeing) and ten percent was for drift fishing. An additional 12,800 private <br />user days were recorded. <br />Segment 6, from State Bridge to Dotsero, is a stretch with long segments of flat water <br />interspersed with several short class III /IV drops, and is used for floatboating, kayaking, <br />canoeing and drift boat angling. Segment 6 receives approximately 5 to 10% of the use that <br />occurs upstream in Segment 5. <br />Segment 7 runs through Glenwood Canyon and offers many opportunities for kayaking, <br />canoeing, rafting and angling. Segment 7 below the dam at Shoshone Power Plant is the busiest <br />segment within the study area. There is almost no on -water recreation below Dotsero and above <br />the dam. Most, if not all, of the commercial use is permitted through the United States Forest <br />Service ( "USFS "). The USFS allows a total annual capacity of 71,500 commercial user days for <br />rafting, 730 user days for commercial kayaking and 150 user days for commercial angling. In <br />2007, the Glenwood Canyon segment experienced 65,502 commercial user days. <br />Available Data <br />The Stakeholder Group has identified several sources of data on the amount of recreation use, <br />access, facilities and user capacities. These include the following: <br />• BLM permit records. <br />• Colorado River Outfitters Association commercial outfitting records. <br />• BLM Analysis of Management Situation (AMS) documents for the Kremmling and <br />Glenwood Springs Field Offices. <br />• A soon -to -be completed study by Arizona State University that describes visitor use <br />preferences in the Kremmling Field Office Management Area. <br />• USFS commercial permit data for Glenwood Canyon. <br />• Additional CDOW data (whirling disease surveys or anecdotal information from game <br />wardens). <br />Data Gaps <br />The BLM has commercial permit data for all the segments, but it only has detailed breakdowns <br />of commercial use and private use for Segment 5. There is very little information available on <br />the amount and types of private recreational use taking place in Segments 4, 6 and the BLM's <br />portion of Segment 7. <br />-12- <br />