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<br />2-4 <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I, <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />The remalnlng M&I water suppl iers within the Study Area rely mainly on <br />ground water supplies, with springs and surface water diversions making up the <br />remainder of their source of supply. <br /> <br />2.4 WATER-BASED RECREATION <br /> <br />The Upper Gunnison and Uncompahgre Basins offer diverse recreational <br />opportunit i es throughout the four seasons of the year. The most popul ar <br />water-based recreational activities are flatwater boating and fishing, stream <br />fishing and camping. Activities which are rapidly growing in popularity <br />include river rafting and boating, and wind surfing. <br /> <br />The majority of the land in the Study Area is public lands (70 percent) <br />which are managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the U.S. Bureau of <br />land Management (BlM). The National Park Service (NPS), the Colorado Division <br />of Wildlife (CDOW) and the Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation <br />(CDPOR) operate recreation facil ities within the Study Area on other publ ic <br />lands which encompass an additional two percent of the Study Area. <br /> <br />There are about 1.5 million acres of National Forest land within the <br />Study Area, compri sing approximately 46 percent of the Study Area. Thi s <br />National Forest land includes all or part of the following six wilderness <br />areas: West Elk, Big Blue, Collegiate Peaks, la Garita, Mount Sneffles and <br />Maroon Bells-Snowmass. Use figures for the National Forest lands were <br />obtained from records kept by the USFS. In 1986, use of the National Forests <br />within the Study Area for all recreation activities is estimated to have been <br />1,132,000 Recreational Visitor Days (RVD's). For the same period, water-based <br />recreat i ona 1 activit i es withi n the forests amounted to 381,000 RVD' s. The <br />Taylor River and Taylor Park area receive some of the most intense <br />recreat i ona 1 use that occurs on USFS 1 ands withi n the Study Area. Major <br />activities include fishing, boating, and camping. The 11 campgrounds located <br />in the Taylor River drainage receive the highest utilization of all forest <br />campgrounds located in the Study Area. They are full on weekends during the <br />peak camping season and generally on many weekdays. In 1986, activities <br />