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n!" r. ~ '," ~ ~) U ....) ,~ ~' ,) I1. BACKGROUND A. Proposed Action ! The action proposed is a revision of the land management plan for , N~tiona1 Forest Lan~s in the Will ~am~ Fork Unit. Rapi~ly changing! 1 ~nd use patterns, 1 ncreased pub 11C mterest, more strmgent 1 aVls '1 r~.gulations and policies, and increasing demands for forest resour!"...e.,s a111 have combined to suggest that revised, more detailed managernen diirection is needed for the Unit. Currently, the management ofth' arjea is guided by the Multiple Use Guide for the ROCkrMountain ',i, R~ion, approved October 11, 1963, and 'Multiple Use Pans for thei Mildci"Ie Park and Dillon Ranger Districts; , The end product of the effort will be a Land Management Plan. Thej w~ various alternatives will be evaluated and environmental ! impacts identified and documented will be an Environmental Stati;l-l ~~t, prepared in accordance with the National Environmental PolicY, c of 1969. B. Purpose of Land Management Ba~ica11y, the purpose of land management planning is twofold: 1) To allocate National Forest resources - based on land suitabiliity - to meet public needs and desires. 2) To develop management direction to, as nearly as possible, meet the goals and objectives identified for the Unit. C. Br1ef Description of the Unit Th~ Williams Fork Unit contains approximately 180,000 acres, about' 85% of which is National Forest land. ., It'is located in Grand and Summit Counties, on the western slope,ofl the Colorado Rockies, about 50 miles west of Denver. More specifidlilly, itllies southeast of Kremm1ing, Colorado and north of Dillon,: Colorado. ' Ap~roximate1y two-thirds of the Unit lies within the upper portion oflthe Williams Fork River watershed, a tributary to the Colorado Riter. This portion of the Unit is roughly rectangular in shape an4 is bordered by mountains on three sides. Its elevation range is 'from 13,553 feet on the Continental Divide to 8,400 feet where the Williams Fork River leaves the Unit. Th~ remaining one-third of the Unit includes National Forest 1an4s wit,hin the Blue River watershed, and its tributary Straight Creek. Th4t portion of the lower Blue River drainage east of the Blue RNer and State Highway 9 from north of Green Mountain Reservoir toi Silverthorne is included - as well as the Straight Creek drainag~ eagt Of Silverthorne along Interstate Highway 70. The Blue River and Straight Creek portions of the Unit are adjacent to the Willi,am~ Fonk portion on the west and south, along the Williams Fork Mountai~s. 5 ,<.