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<br />0007H <br /> <br />2033 (47 Stat 2558) to preserve the spectacular gorge and other objects of scenic, scientific, and <br />educational interests. The Park includes 14 miles of the Gunnison River downstream from the <br />Aspinall Unit. <br /> <br />Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area - The Bureau of Land Management manages the <br />area below the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park including an additional 23 miles of <br />the Gunnison River. <br /> <br />Gold Medal Trout Fisheries - The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) has classified the <br />Gunoison Riverfromthe upper end of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to the <br />confluence of the North Fork River as a Gold Medal Trout Fishery. <br /> <br />Crystal Trash Rack Cleaning Project - In 1999, Reclamation lowered the water surface at <br />Crystal Reservoir and cleaned its trash racks. Morrow Point Dam continued to peak releases <br />during the trash rack cleaning project, which resulted in exposed sediments being picked up by <br />Morrow Point releases and deposited downstream of Crystal Dam in the Gunnison River. <br />Flushing flows were needed to remove sediments in downstream rainbow and brown trout <br />spawnIng areas, <br /> <br />Public Scoping <br /> <br />Reclamation identified issues and concerns with participation from individuals. agencies, and <br />organizations that may be affected by the project. The Morrow Point Trash Rack Cleaning <br />Project was first presented to the general public at the January 2001 Aspinall operations meeting. <br />On January 25, 2001, a public scoping letter was mailed to interested parties and was published <br />in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. Additional discussion was conducted at the January and <br />April 2002 Aspinall operations meeting. <br /> <br />Each issue and concern described below is discussed in Chapter 3. More information on public <br />scoping activities is included in Chapter 4. <br /> <br />Water Resources <br /> <br />The proposed action has the potential to temporarily affect water quality downstream of Morrow <br />Point Dam, Concerns focus around total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), <br />turbidity, and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels below Crystal Reservoir. <br /> <br />The Gunnison Tunnel, operated by the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association <br />(UVWUA) below Crystal Reservoir, diverts water for irrigation and municipal use in the <br />Montrose and Delta areas. The proposed action has the potential to temporarily affect water <br />storage and supply if releases from Crystal Reservoir are affected, <br /> <br />3 <br />