WSP00792

• File Number: 7630.010
• Description: Wild and Scenic - Black Canyon of the Gunnison
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 9/1/1971
• Author: National Park Servic
• Title: Wilderness Recommendation - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument - Colorado
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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pinyon.juniper woodland in the higher sections. Douglas-fir and
aspen grow in some parts of the canyon. Gnarled old pinyons and
junipers on the rims add rugged grace and a sense of time to the
canyon scene. Foresters estimate that some of the pinyons on the
South Rim are approximately 750 years old; some may be older.
Additional shrubs such as findlerbush, wild rose, mock orange,
rock spires, snowberry, wax currant, gooseberry, and chokecherry
are abundant. The more conspicuous animals are elk, mule deer,
bighorn sheep, porcupine, coyote, badger, gray fox, eagle, and sage
grouse. Some of the smaller creatures include lizards, chipmunks,
ground squirrels, swallows, swifts, and wrens.

Visitor.Use Facilities
Roads along both the North Rim and the South Rim of the
canyon provide outstanding views of the awesome gorge and the
river below. There are eight overlooks on the North Rim and 13
on the South Rim, all with improved trails of various distances
leading to them. There is a campground with 102 sites and a small
picnic area on the South Rim; and on the North Rim, there is a
small campground with 13 sites. There are short nature trails on
both rims, and a self.guiding trail leading from High Point to
Warner Point on the South Rim, a distance of 0.8 mile.

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DESCRIPTION OF PRELIMINARY WILDERNESS PROPOSAL

The preliminary wilderness proposal of 9600 acres covers
approximately 70 percent of the monument. It consists of the
canyon portion only in the eastern half of the monument, while
the approximate western half includes all of the monument except
for the 1/8-mile management zone along the exterior boundary. In
additioA, two trail corridors leading down Red Rock Canyon in the
western portion and down Gunnison Point trail to the river, two
10'acre enclaves at the end of the two trails, and one enclave at
Serpent Point are excluded from the proposed wilderness area.

A more precise measurement of the land involved in this
preliminary proposal indicates an area of 8645 acres, rather than
the 9600 acres originally stated. This more precise total would
therefore constitute about 64 percent of the monument.

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