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~I l'\ Ml" :":1 1, PURPOSE AND NEID A. INTRODUCTION The Oh-Be-Joyful Wilderness Study Area was established by Congress in PL 96-560, the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1980. The Act requires the Secretary of Agriculture to review the Oh-Be-Joyful area and make recommendations on the suitability or unsuitability for its inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System within three years - by December 1983. This review is being done in accordance with the draft Forest Service Manual (FSM 1924 -.Wilderness designation), This environmental impact statement is not a decision document in and of itself. It is a document disclosing; the environmental consequences of implementation of the proposed action and alternatives tc ~he proposed action. It is used in the decision making process. The environmental consequences on land and activities administered by other Federal, State and local jurisdictions resulting from the proposed action have been disclosed in this EIS. The Forest Service decision relates only to lands administered by the Forest Se~vice and will be documented in a Record of Decision. B. NATURE AND PURPOSE OF ACTION The Oh-Be-Joyful area has been identified as a potential wilderness area for several years - being a part of -both of the Forest Service Roadless Area Review and Evaluation studies (RARE I and RARE II). In 1973, the Forest Service conducted a Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE) in an effort to inventory and identify those road- less and undeveloped areas which were the best candidates for in- clusion into the National Wilderness Preservation System. In 1977, the RARE II process was implemented. RARE II was in response to the President1s and the Department of Agriculture's commitment to promptly identify areas to be added to the National Wilderness Preser- vation System; areas needing no further consideration for wilderness; and areas which should be studied further. The Study Area was included in the Ruby-Anthracite (GU) wilderness study area as a result of RARE T. In RARE II, it was a part of the Raggeds Roadless Area #02181, The RARE II Final Environmental State- ment recommended wilderness designation for most of the Raggeds area (A2IBI), but removed the Oh-Be-Joyful area and some other small areas 011 the west of the Raggeds IB21Bl) - all of which were recommenjed as non-wilderness. The Oh-Be-Joyful area was removed from the wilderness recommendation by the Forest Service due to its mineral potentiul. 1