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Q'3~~J3 . . \ 6 Another management area is the Bureau of Land Management's Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area, shown on Plate I. This area, now under development, is located about 9 miles northeast of Alamosa and contains about 5,350 acres that serves the purposes of waterfowl production, resting and feeding, upland-game production, fishing, and general outdoor recreation. The entire area is open to hunting and will provide considerable fishing, upland-game and waterfowl hunting, and other wildlife-oriented recreation benefits annually. The three wildlife areas would not be affected by the project ex- cept that the water supply for the Alamosa National Wildlife Ref- uge would be impaired. A few mule deer and antelope are found in the project area, but hunting for these species is minor and would be expected to remain so over the period of analysis. Pheasant, mournIng dove, cottonta i 1. j ackrabb it, and chukar par- tridge are the upland-game species in the project area. Brushland in association with some cropland and wet areas provides moderate quality habitat for these species. Because land use patterns would not be expected to change in the foreseeable future without the project, upland-game populations would remain approximately the same as they are at the present time. Without the project, it is estimated that there would be 3,200 man-days of upland-game hunting annually in the water salvage area. About 1,200 man-days would be pheasant hunting, 1,800 man-days would be rabbit hunting, and the remaining 200 man-days would be dove hunting. The San Luis Valley is the most important waterfowl production area in Colorado and contains valuable wintering habitat. Studies have shown that waterfowl production in the San Luis Valley is among the nation's highest on a square mile basis and, consequently, the valley is of importance in the national migratory bird management program. About 100,000 acres of wetland habitat occurs within the water sal- vage area. During wet years the brushland areas from Russell Lakes southeast to San Luis Lake contain many small potholes. Seepage and runoff from irrigation and artesian wells create extensivel marshy areas. The largest acreage of nesting habitat in the water-salvage area consists of brushland, although native hay meadows and grass- lands also provide some nesting cover. The project area contains an important segment of the waterfowl habitat within the Central Flyway. Many ducks use the area annually