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public and private land and water area devoted in some respect to recreation. National parks, national monu- ments, and other areas administered by the National Park Service make up about 97 percent of the type I acreage, accounted for largely by Yellowstone, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain National Parks. National forest and grasslands, public domain lands, and Indian reservation lands comprise about 97 percent of the type II land and water. Nearly all of the sizable units are in the western half of the basin and provide the bulk of the sightseeing, hiking, and hunting. Local parks, Federal reservoirs, and State parks and recreation areas provide most of the type III lands and water acreage. Within the type I and II areas are about 4.5 million acres of lands that are now receiving preservation protection and qualify as wilderness areas. Of this total, 4 percent by acreage is designated as road less area, 16 percent as primitive area, 35 percent wilderness area, and 45 percent National Park Service areas. The National Park Service areas are not specifically designated as wilderness, but represent sufficient wilderness values to be so considered. The basin also supports an unusual variety of fish and wildlife species, often in a pristine environment. Their value is principally for sport hunting and fishing, and a growing environmental, aesthetic, and scientific interest. Certain fur-bearing animals and many kinds of fish have a significant commercial value. Ninety-seven percent of the basin's 329 million acres of land and water provide habitat that is important in varying degrees for fish and wildlife. Only 0.3 percent is devoted exclusively to fish and wildlife use, but an additional 2.7 percent is of primary consideration in multi-purpose management. Most of the area used is priv;Jlely owned and the fishery or wildlife use is ancillary to other purposes. Currently, about 44,000 miles 0 f streams and 1.4 million acres of lakes and reservoirs provide an estimated 43 million fisherman- days of sport fishing capacity within the basin. Wildlife populations are as varied as the wide range of habitat that supports them. About 60 species of big game, small game, and waterfowl are sought by sports- men. About 20 of the species are important for their fur. 24 There are an estimated 2.5 million acres of wetlands valuable to waterfowl in the basin. These wetlands support an estimated 2.2 million wintering waterfowl and about 2.4 million of breeding waterfowl. Shallow fresh marshes, deep fresh marshes, open fresh water, and seasonally flooded basins constitute the bulk of these wetlands. ~~': .~. "';''''''~''r "',,' .'., . .'j . \.~ . i>. ');'i'" ',." . Wetlands Are Essential For Waterfowl In recent years the annual harvest within the basin has been about I million birds. However, the value of the basin's wetlands resources for waterfowl cannot be appraised solely on the within-basin harvest, because they supply breeding and resting habitat vital in the international migratory pattern of the Great Central Flyway. Waterfowl populations have shown a marked decline in the past 15 years and the lower population within the Central Flyway has required severely regulated harvest controls. Indicative of the wildlife resources in the basin is the number of game animals taken by sportsmen annually. Currently, abou t 15 million game animals are harvested annually, about 75 percent of which is small game and the remainder equally divided between big game and waterfowl hunting.