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<br />CHAPTER 1 <br /> <br />PURPOSE AND NEED <br /> <br />Wild and Scenic Rivers Act <br /> <br />Section 5(a) of the Wild.and Scenic Rivers Act identified the <br />Gunnison River as a "Candidate River" for designation (Public <br />Law 93-621; January 3, 1975). The NPS completed a study and <br />concluded that 26 miles of the river from the upstream boundary <br />of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument downstream <br />to the Smith Fork confluence are eligible for designation as a <br />wild river. The eligibility was based upon five criteria: <br />(1) it is free-flowing; (2) its length is sufficient to provide a <br />meaningful experience to the recreation users; (3) it has <br />adequate volumes of high quality water; (4) its watershed and <br />shoreline are primitive and relatively inaccessible; and (5) its <br />environs possess outstanding scenic, geologic, recreational, and. <br />wildlife values (NPS, 1979b). <br /> <br />Development of any of the proposed alternatives would primarily <br />affect criterion 5, recreation use, and criterion 3, volume of <br />water, as discussed in detail in chapter 3. The river would <br />remain eligible for "wild and scenic" status under all <br />alternatives. <br /> <br />Wilderness Areas <br /> <br />Both a wilderness area and a wilderness study area exist along <br />the Gunnison River downstream from the Gunnison Tunnel. An area <br />of 11,180 acres in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National <br />Monument has been designated as a wilderness, and 21,038 acres of <br />public land managed by the BLM downstream from the monument have <br />been designated the Gunnison Gorge Wilderness Study Area. <br /> <br />Operation of alternative hydropower plans would affect river <br />flows through these areas and this in turn would affect <br />recreation use. These impacts are discussed in chapter 3. <br /> <br />Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument <br /> <br />The ,Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument was <br />established in 1933 and borders the Gunnison River immediately <br />downstream from the Gunnison Tunnel. River flows through the <br />monument are regulated by the upstream Aspinall Unit Reservoirs <br />and by diversions through the Gunnison Tunnel. Alternatives <br />being considered under the project would further alter these <br />flows. The flow changes and their effects are discussed in <br />chapter 3. <br /> <br />1 -12 <br />