WSP01656

• File Number: 8200.766
• Description: Gunnison River General
• State: CO
• Basin: Gunnison
• Water Division: 4
• Date: 5/1/1985
• Author: USFS
• Title: Oh-Be-Joyful Wilderness Study Area - Final Environmental Impact Statement
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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interests) to gather mineral relat:ed data. If selected, the
Forest Service will maintain the f~xisting wilderness character
for two years after the date of submission of a wilderness
recommendation to Congress. If no action is taken by Congress
during that period, the Forest 5elvice will then manage the area
for nonwiljerness purposes under the Forest Land and Resource
Management Plan, as directed by Cc'ngress in the Colorado wilder-
ness Act.

4. NO ACTION

The "No Action" alternative is to continue to manage the Study
Area in accordance with the East River Land Management Plan as
temporarily modified by the Colorado Wilderness Act. Mine~al
operations will be approved in accordance wit}- ~lilderness \ct of
1964 requirements. This action can be appliec only until ))ecember
1983 when the President is required to make the wilderness suitability
reconunendation to Congress (Colorado Wilderne~;s Act). 5el ~ction
of this alternative would alJow about two add]tional years for
the respolsible government a<:encies. and the private sector to
gather mineral related data.

5. SUITABLE j'OR WILDERNESS DESIGNATION WITH MODIFICATION OF EASTERN
BOUNDARY

As was alternative 3, this alternati'Je was added to this study
after publication of the Draft Envir')Tunental Impact Statement and
the analysis of public response. Thl~ alternatLve is similar to
the unqualified suitable alternative (#1), except that the
President ....ould recommend a change iI' the eastern boundary to
eliminate :in area of suspected molybdenum mineralization under
active exploration from the area recommended for wilderness
designation. This alternative, if adopted, would eliminate 2030
acres in the Oh-Be-Joyful Study Area from wilderness designation
(see map, ~igure II-I).

D, ~!lJ:IMARY OF !l_NVI_RONME3lJ!'~_ S:_O!lSEQUENC~S

The following (rable 11-1) is a comparison of the environmental and
administrative ~mpacts of the alternatives for the Oh-Be-Joyful Wilder-
ness Study Area,

The information sununarized in the table is developed in more detail in
Section IV - Enlironmental Consequences.

This is a legis Lative EtS to ma'<.e a recommendation on the wilderness
suitability for the Stu ly Area. Because there are no other actions
proposed, no specific m tigatin'J measures were identified for any of
the alternatives.

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