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<br />o <br />" <br /> <br />.. <br />~ <br />c.., <br />OJ <br /> <br />::':; <br /> <br />A summary of annual visitation for recreational actlvities in the study <br />area for 1986 is provided in Table S.l. The recreation use estimates described <br />in Table S.l were gathered from separate agencies and locations and should not <br />be added together to obtain a total for the basin. The methods of determining <br />visitation by each entity are different and no method of converting between <br />them is available. Nevertheless, these figures do provide a useful insight <br />into the total recreational use in the study area. <br /> <br />Improvement opportunities were initially identified based upon extensive <br />input provided by area fisheries and recreation experts. At the outset of the <br />study, experts including fish biologists and resource managers from State and <br />Federa 1 resource management agenci es, 1 oca 1 government staffs, academi c <br />researchers, private resort operators, and knowledgeable fishermen were <br />requested through interviews, questionnaires, and group meetings to describe <br />and select potential fishery and recreation improvements. This process was <br />intended to provide the study with information tempered by experience and <br />judgment that would be hard to develop from numerical data alone, given the <br />SlOO-square mile size of the study area, and the eight-month study time frame. <br /> <br />The information obtained indicates that the Upper Gunnison Basin has a <br />significant supply of good fishing on small, medium, and large streams, and on <br />reservoirs. There are also a number of streams in the basin which support <br />truly outstanding fisheries. There are very few streams, lakes, and reservoirs <br />in the Upper Gunnison Basin on which the fishery conditions were rated as poor. <br />On the other hand, there are very few good to excellent trout fishing areas <br />which can be quickly and easily reached in the Uncompahgre Valley. <br /> <br />More than 50 waterbodies that would benefit from improvement were <br />identified in questionnaires, during the interviews, and during a workshop <br />which was conducted in Gunnison by the study team on July 24, 1987. At the <br />conclusion of the workshop, the participants were asked to make reconmendations <br />regarding which stream and reservoir systems should be given priority for <br />improvement. The discussion at the workshop resulted in the development of a <br />list of ten stream and reservoir systems and suggested improvements. One <br />additional stream system, Ohio Creek, was added.by the study team following the <br />workshop. The following is the selected list of stream and reservoir systems <br />(list arranged geographically starting in the Upper Gunnison sub-basin and <br />proceeding clockwise around the study area): <br /> <br />-3- <br />