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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON. D,C. 20240 December 22, 1967 Dear General Cassidy: In our letter of August 18, 1967, we recommended that your report on Bear Creek Basin, South Platte River and Tributaries, Colorado, Wyoming, and Neb~aska, be modified to include a ~evised rec~eation development plan for the proposed Mouqt Carbon Dam and Reservoir project. At that time, our respective field staffs were jointly working out the details of the plan. ~ ",,': The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation and the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife advise that studies of the outdoor recreation potential of the proposed project, made in cooperation with the Omaha District Engineer and appropriate agencies of the State of Colorado, have been completed. The two Bureaus have submitted the following outdoor recreation develop- ment plan to provide for optimum utilization of the project's outdoor recreation potential. , The significant features of the outdoor recreation plan are land acqulsl- tion, provision of water to fill and maintain pools in the proposed reservoir and the two existing Soda Lakes, and the development of facilities to support planned recreation use. Land to be acquired specifically for outdoor recreation comprises 758 acres. This area, which includes the two Soda Lakes and most of Mount Glennon, would be required in addition to lands acquired for other project purposes to preserve the scenic and open space qualities and recreation potential of the site. The initial filling of the sediment pool of the proposed reservoir, which would have a surface area of 130 acres, and the Soda Lakes, which have a combined surface area of about 100 acres, would require the renting of about 3,900 acre-feet of water. Permanent water rights to about 530 acre-feet would have to be acquired to replenish annual evapbration from these pools. ~ . The proposed development would accommodate a wide range of outdoor recrea- tion activities and includes such facilities as boat-launching ramps and docks; swimming beaches and bathhouses; rifle, trap, skeet, and archery ranges; trails for horseback riding, hiking, cycling, and nature appre- ciation; playing fields for team sports; picnicking and camping areas; and supporting facilities. The attractive setting of the proposed project and its accessibility to the large metropolitan population of Denver, Colorado, indicate that optimum use of the outdoor recreation potential of the project would be realized concurrently with its being placed in operation. Optimum use xviii