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',.,,;r- ,..) "J ...., ~) (.~;) Table 9 Incidental Benefits from the Mitigation Plan Alamosa San Luis Lake Russell Lakes Total Waterfowl production (ducks/yr) 7,472 895 2,565 10,962 Hunter-days/season Annual net benefits 1,288 155 447 1,890 $ 12,236 1,473 4,246 $ 17,955 In addition to the incidental benefits derived from the increased waterfowl production, the additional water and associated wetlands will help in the manage- ment of birds that are of high Federal interest. These birds which are found on the Alamosa NWR and may also be found on Blanca WHA, Head and San Luis Lakes, and Russell Lakes include the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, long-billed curlew, great blue heron, greater sandhill crane, whooping crane, and the western grebe. The bald eagle, whooping crane, and the peregrine falcon are also on the Federal list of endangered species. An additional 211,400 use-days per season will incidentally result from the improvement of the habitat value of both wetlands and surrounding areas. V. Enhancement In addition to the mitigation and the incidental benefits realized from the mitigation plan, the project would result in substantial enhancement to the fish and wildlife resources of the San Luis Valley. The enhancement features are shown in table 10 and briefly described below. A. Head Lake and Associated Wetlands Approximately 700 acres of wetlands at Head Lake and the area between Head and San Luis Lakes would be developed and maintained by the use of 6 ft3/s of pro- ject water delivered into Head Lake. The development of this area would occur provided that the State of Colorado agrees to replace increased evaporation and seepage losses resulting from this development. This development would increase waterfowl production by about 1,344 ducks per year and hunter-days by 232. Net benefits associated with this increase would amount to $2,204 annually. Wildlife- oriented recreation would also increase by about 1,000 use-days/season with net benefits of about $2,000 annually. B. San Luis Lake San Luis Lake would be stabilized at 890 surface acres. The lake would support a high quality combination cold-warm water fishery. In addition to the general recreation uses, the lake would support about 40,000 fisherman-days use annually with net benefits of about $100,000. 16