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<br />1200 <br /> <br />During the past <br />was as follows: <br />411,693; 1972 - <br />1976 - 401,500. <br /> <br />several years visitation to Dinosaur National Monument <br />1968 - 308,270; 1969 - 337,792; 1970 - 371,358; 1971 - <br />497,091; 1973 - 412,723; 1974 - 332,648; 1975 - 380,800; <br /> <br />The primary uses of the narrO',_ river corridors are, and Hill continue <br />to be, boating, viewing scenery, and camping along the rivers by boaters. <br />Use of the rivers ilas ranged from approximately 3,755 visitors in 1968 <br />to 17,159 in 1972. <br /> <br />Cormne.rcial groHtil in the "river adventure business II is outstripping <br />privat" participation whic:l noneth"l"ss nearly doubled from 1)70 to 1972. <br />In 1973 there were t;,vo :"iatiollal Park Service concessions operating tile <br />rivers: Hatch River E},.1leditions and ;~Testem River Expeditions. In <br />addition, th"re \Jere ten activ", sp"cial use perlOittees cOlOpared to only <br />six in 19h1. Tids proliferatiol1 of comlOercial interests has had some <br />interesting sociological sidelights. \filereas the.. older companies like <br />!latch have catered principally to families and adults in organized groups, <br />such as the Sierra Club from across the country, more recent companies <br />like Adventure noul1d and Out',_ard Bound have catered more to teenap,ers <br />from the Denver area. Special education groups such as the interracial <br />Senior Seminar from I:ast High School have been making environ~ntal <br />float trips \Jith OuNard Uowld. An estimated 4,0~O youths, some of tllem <br />culturally disadvantaged, took multi-day boat trips in 1971. Dinosaur's <br />canyons are valued not only by individuals wanting to experience the <br />recreation and scenery of the rivers, but they are al~o reco~ized <br />nationally as outstanding places to d"velop self-uliance and to study <br />the effects of man on his environment. <br /> <br />Hore people float through tile canyons of Dinosaur each YCRr than through <br />the Grand Canyon. Considering comparative river ll'ileage, Dinosaur re- <br />ceives more thun t"ice the impact on ecosystems that are probably more <br />susc"ptible to damage. Unregulated boating "ill lead to esthetic <br />degradation of float trips and ecologic deterioration of the canyons. <br />A tentative level of boating use is now set by the ;':ational Park Service <br />at about 4Cl,00~ boater use days per year, including bottl one-day and <br />multi-day trips. Tilis "as the number of people ruaning the river in <br />1972. <br /> <br />Camping by up to 150 pe rsons on singl" nigh ts in sites of a few acres <br />such as the Jones ito1e Campground has resulted in loss of vegetation. <br />Restrictions ha.ve been placed on t:lt~ number of cam;:>crs per site. and on <br />the number of people' per boat party. These restrictions have resulted <br />in a r.lOre even distributioil of use on the rivers and moderated pressure <br />on more popular campsites but they have not reuuced total pressures on <br />th", rivers. Th" t",ntative ceilinf, on US" is intended to accomplish tllat <br />purpose until impact studies can be completed. <br /> <br />SFM-8 <br />