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<br />COMMENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR <br /> <br /> <br />UNITED STATES <br />DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR <br />OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY <br />WASHINGTON, D,C, 20240 <br /> <br />August 18, 1967 <br /> <br />,. <br /> <br />Dear General Cassidy: <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />This is in reply to your letter of May 11, 1967, requesting our <br />comments on reports on Bear Creek Basin, South Platte River and <br />Tributaries, Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. <br /> <br />The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation advises that it concurs in general <br />with the proposed plan of improvement. It believes, however, that <br />the characteristics of the proposed Mount Carbon Dam and Reservoir <br />Project site are such that the recreation potential of the area <br />would not be fully realized. The setting is a scenic shallow basin <br />at the very base of the Rocky Mountain Front Range. The terrain is <br />varied to the extent that it has valuable open space qualities and <br />affords a base for the development of facilities to support a <br />diversity of recreation experiences. <br /> <br />The area has exceptional recreation value in that it is located <br />within 10 miles of Denver, Colorado, and modern highways make it <br />easily accessible to the metropolitan population. <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />The Bureau has been working with representatives of your office, the <br />District Engineer, Omaha, Nebraska, the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and <br />Wildlife, and interested agencies of the State of Colorado with a <br />view toward revising the re~eation plan. The revised plan generally <br />would involve adjusting the project boundary to include acquisition <br />of the two Soda Lakes and the adjoining lands, an area of about 500 <br />acres, and providing additional facilities to accommodate the full <br />range of recreation activities in keeping with the potential of the <br />site. The recreation use of the project under this plan is estimated <br />to be 580,000 visits annually as compared with 257,000 visits under <br />the District Engineer's plan. The separable first costs for recreation <br />lands and facilities would be about $4,000,000 for the revised plan as <br />compared with $1,000,000 for the District Engineer's plan. <br /> <br />.' <br /> <br />The revised recreation plan would be consistent with the goals expressed <br />in the State's outdoor recreation plan which assigns a first priority <br />to water resource projects. The plan concludes that "...the most <br />urgent recreational needs are those which will satisfy the demands of <br />urban population in Colorado." <br /> <br />xv <br />