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<br />002355 <br /> <br />BIG BLUE ADDITIONS <br /> <br />Statistics <br /> <br />Jurisdiction: Gunnison Basin Resource Area, BLM <br />Wilderness Study Area: <br />RARE II Recommendation: <br />Reagan Administration Recommendation: <br />State of Colorado Recommendation: <br />Conservationists' Recommendation: <br /> <br />5,980 acres <br />N/A <br />1,505 acres <br />1,505 acres <br />3;870 acres <br /> <br />Location <br /> <br />The Big Blue Additions are located north of Lake City. They <br />consist of the Bureau of Land Management's American Flats, Bill <br />Hare Gulch, and Larsen Creek Wilderness Study Areas. <br /> <br />Wilderness Qualities <br /> <br />These three WSAs are contiguous with the Big Blue Wilderness and <br />constitute, topographically, a logical extension of the wilderness <br />area's boundaries. This is particularly true of the American <br />Flats WSA. This addition would include the high altitude portion <br />of the Big Blue watershed, which lies in American Flats. <br /> <br />The addition of American Flats, the largest of the three units, to <br />the Big Blue Wilderness, will offer a truly wonderful wilderness <br />experience: the Flats are a vast expanse of gentle, flower- <br />speckled tundra with magnificent, unobstructed views of Wetterhorn <br />Peak, Uncompahgre Peak and much of the San Juan Mountains. Even <br />more important, American Flats is a wilderness accessible to most <br />everyone. One need walk over just a small rise from the Engineer <br />Pass road to gain access to this gentle wilderness. It is an <br />ideal place for even disabled or elderly visitors to easily <br />experience the beauty and solitude of alpine wilderness, <br /> <br />The WSAs are considered most important as summer range for big <br />game species and as year-round habitat for a variety of smaller <br />mammals and birds. The 40-50 elk which winter at the south end of <br />Lake San Cristobal depend upon American Flats for summer range.3 <br /> <br />Recreation is particularly important to Hinsdale County. The <br />county consists of 395 permanent residents, swelling to 3,000 <br />during the summer months. The county's main income derives from <br />hunters, fishermen, sightseers and campers. Guest ranches, <br />outfitters, summer resorts and curio shops cater to the visitors <br />which flock to the area, <br /> <br />3Colorado Division of wildlife. <br /> <br />4 <br />