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OGD131 IV. AlTERNATIVES CONSIDERED The Water Resources Council (WRC) adopted an analytical process for developing and evaluating alterna- tive plans for water and related land resource uses 1n 1973. This process wa~ published in the Federal Register. Volllllle 38, :-lumber 174. Sepcemb"r 10. 1913. n",sc Prlneipl.,!> and Standards were used 1n the assessmL~t and study of the Piedra River. According [0 the Principles and Standards, planning for the use and develop~ent of the Sarion's "-,,sources serve!! tVO major. co-equal objectives: National Econollllc Devele...."nl (NED) and Environlllental Quality (EQ). Both objectives are equally important and are treated accordingly 10 the analysis. Each alternative 1s measured in lC~ of satisfaction of the objective fo~ which it was !or~u13t~d and its effects on th~ other objc"Uve. Additionally. the beneficial and adv..rse eff"ctll of each alterrlat1ve are compared in a system of aCCOUrlts vhich include national economic develop~'nt, environmental quality, regional developlll""t (RD) and social well being (S:','B). (The flut t....o accounts should nOt be confused with the ~ED and EQ objectives.) ~en outright conflicts exist that preclude satisfaction of the alternatives, a number of alternatives are developed to assure that all reasonable altetnatives are considered. A. AL'tERNATlVE FOR){UU.!10S A1l the fir,;t step a Supply/Dem"nd analys19 was _de to establish th" framework for tbe alterna- tiv"s. The a,~lysis here is ~ade for the "ntire Piedra drainage becaus" the river corridor provides only a small fraction of the local economic base. 'table VIII displays the demand analysis for resources of the Piedra drainage. Hunting and flshing demand is extrapolated from projections in the Colorado Oivislon of Wildlife's strateglc plan for wildlife and fish management ("Today's StnHegy.. .TolllOr- row's Wildlife". 19111). Supply Is based on state'Jide av<:r"ges of use and hunter densities published in the "nnlUll O.O.W. hUllting r<:pnrts. 1910-1916. ~ I 1) Demand projections for outdoor recreation uSe are based on average annual intrease (1966-1916) for the variou$ reported uses; supply ls based on the ecological suitability for individual ELU'lI (&ee Appendix B-ll) for individual uses. Ca~in8 and picnlcking supply Is proje~ted fro~ capacity of e~idting developments plus ("."paclly of potential developments and re,oabllitation t'f e>.lsting sites. SupplY fo~ trail and ("o<ld use--Ir.cluding hiking, horscp..ck riding and vehicular use--is cOlllp:.oe,'d On the !.tasi. of lilIes "f tralls and roads, l,",cluding an estlaat<' Jcr off-trail and ofl-r,.,ad uses_ I ~ Whie,. wat.n. bOllting ."pply Is ~'\"ed on current and proj..cted t"pacitles of p'lt-in lInd take-out l"'ations and av",r.:tge rivo'r volumes that .:!stablishse.1sonsof:Jsi!. Supply for oth~r boat~ng ill "-6sociated ~lrh the surface area ~apGcity of Williams Creek Reservoir since it is the only lake in the JrainaR" that accomodates boating. The State Division of Wildlife has imposed a potential limit of 400 people/day fo~ use of the reservoir. 2) Demand projections for wood fiber products is taken from OBERS Series E projections (1912). Supply from 1917 through 2000 is bss"d On maintaining current production levels of tbe dependent lndustries. )) Oo=estic livestock productlon demand in Anlaal rnit Months (AUM's) for Sational forest lands is taken from 08ERS Series E projections (1972). Acrual nuabers of AL~'s utilized in 1976 provide tbe demand base for Forest Service lands; supply is the current carrying capacity of the allotments. The projections are based upon planned changes in the current allotment plans that would balance permitted use with carrying cap~city. ~) DelMnd for domestic livestock producUon On private lands within the riv..r corridot is taken from OBERS Series E projections. The assumption that the demand for Irrigation water and crop land. non-irrigated crop land, range lsnd and wood land is a derived de~nd induced by the del!lllnd fo~ li~'estoclt. AL'M '5 ar.. determined from figures supplied by SCS and measured against FHA farm and ranch loan appraisal datll. Supply is assumed to ~el!lllin the s~e because improved irrigation systems delivering water more efflciently and lncrease per aCre feed production are generally not available for the lands under irrigation. 5) Demand for Illinerals, although unquantified. is based on populatlon growth. ..n",rgy and minerals use. and eco"olllic growth dev"loped by the U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of ~nes and the Energy Research and Development Administration_ Generall)', demand Is assumed to equal sarply. Presently, the supply is nOI kn~~ since prospecting has not resulted in ~jneral e~traction operations. 1-18