WSPC02286

• File Number: 8210.761.09
• Description: Colorado River-Federal Agencies-US NPS-Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 10/1/1997
• Title: General Management Plan 2-Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument and Curecanti National Recreation Area
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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PLAN MANAGEMENT

VISITOR EXPERIENCE AND
THE PARK ENVIRONMENT

Beyond the resource management plan
that identifies specific needs relative to
individual program areas, such as natural
and cultural resources, an overall
resource management strategy to protect
park resources needs to be developed.
This would enable the park to begin
monitoring conditions and ensure that
goals related to resource management
and visitor use can be achieved. The
development of the Resource
Opportunity Area concept is the first step
in incrementally moving the park unit
toward the goal of addressing "canying
capacity. "

Parks are composites of a variety of
important natural and cultural resources.
People value parks for many sorts of
reasons-inspirational, educational,
aesthetic, recreational, scientific,
spiritual, and economic, among others.
Significant differences relating to
resource values and visitor use usually
exist within different areas of a park. The
uniqueness of these various areas and
their relationship to one another as well
as to lands beyond the park boundary,
influence visitor use and management of
the park. Therefore, describing a set of
alternatives and the park's affected
environment (and ultimately assessing
impacts) requires one to identify and
categorize the resource values of a park.
These pieces of the park are called
resource opportunity areas (ROAs) and
can extend beyond the boundaries of the
park. The evaluation of these areas

requires the involvement of public and
private interests in the area. The ROAs
are referenced in the environmental
consequences section to describe how
park resources and visitor experience
may be affected.

There are six areas in Black Canyon
named for their contribution to the way
human beings use park resources and for
the resources contained within them-
panoramic views, canyon backdrop, cliff
top, cliffs and the inner canyon, the river,
and the way in.

There are six areas in Curecanti named
for their contribution to the way human
beings use park resources and for the
resources contained within them-
riparian riverine, Gunnison River canyon,
Blue Mesa, lake arms, canyon rim, and
the inner canyon.

ROAs are important to incrementally
plan for the protection of park resources
from visitor overuse. They illustrate how
visitors might relate to and use park
resources. They also provide the basis for
understanding visitor experiences
available within a park. At the same
time, the physical resource attributes and
visitor experiences are related to each
park's purpose and significance.

ROAs identify sensitive resources, where
damage may occur from overuse. By
identifying important resources and
visitor experiences, the first steps needed
to define carrying capacity and protect
park resources from overuse are
completed. Future VERP planning
(Visitor Experience and Resource
Protection) will eventually define

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