Show 78 was a busy year for Flaming Gorge Recreation Area The Icy white tranquility of winter seems to deny the existence of activity or growth at the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Upon close several noteworthy accomplishments and plans are During the 1978 summer visitor statistics rose nearly 2 over 1977 to visitor days use for the entire recreation Several projects will add to the ability to accommodate such The Flaming Gorge Dam Visitor Center expansion is nearing The addition will result in square feet of floor including a small theater and new exhibit As an example of the cooperation between federal the Bureau of Reclamation will provide the visitor center building and the Forest Service will supply displays and host A new movie of Flaming Gorge and new exhibits are also being prepared for this Recreation improvement plans for next summer include a new warehouse-workshop at Firehole recreation The cost will be near Another project will modify the sewage lagoons at the Buckboard Cedar Springs and Firefighter's Memorial New water systems for Valley and Antelope Campgrounds were installed this year at a total cost of about Drinking water at these sites will be drawn from wells in the future rather than from the Another example of progress at Flaming Gorge is the completed penstock modification project at the dam This project of the Bureau of Reclamation utilizes a system of shutter gates at penstock intakes to remove water from various depths of the reservoir and thereby provide temperature control of water Summer flows in the Green River below the dam can now be controlled in a range between 40 and 60 degrees the objective being to provide a more favorable habitat for As a increased water have decreased the risks and discomforts encountered by those floating the river below the Other accomplishments of the past year Include coordination with the Northwest Pipeline Company in replacing nine miles of 28 inch natural gas pipeline located on National Forest Looking at the Sheep Creek five-year cooperative project with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the U.S. Forest Service was initiated last A total of will be used to stabilize the habitat and channel of Sheep Creek from the reservoir upstream to the Big Spring The project is designed to improve critical spawning areas for salmon and for rainbow and cutthroat Fish habitat will be enhanced and protected by creating pools and feeding areas for young fingerling Stream banks wilT be rip-rapped in critical areas to prevent further erosion and watershed Beaver population control is also being done In order to avoid blockages to the upstream passage of spawning Upon completion of the it is anticipated that spawning fish will be able to reach the Big Spring area where water temperatures are 10 to 15 degrees warmer than the lower end of the Higher temperatures will mote the survival of young fish which are hatched during the spring During the fall of a project was initiated to enhance wildlife habitat in the Dutch John The technique used involves clearing 3 to S acre patches of pinyon pine and juniper with some future clearings of up to 10 The pinyon-juniper invades open areas over reducing the amount of feed available to The areas to be cleared are planned out in advance based upon wildlife requirements and esthetic design Bulldozers then push the trees over and into After the piles are burned in the Some small piles are left unburned as cover for small Seeding with a mixture of grasses and browse provides the last step and future feed for seedlings have been planted in many clearings with excellent provides excellent feed for deer during winter To acres have been treated with wildlife use of these areas increasing In the trees will be removed using fire alone where the density of trees will Using this larger areas will be Pinyon and juniper tree invasions will take much longer on these larger areas and treatment benefits will endure One final item should be mentioned as an example of the private project on National Forest Work on the Sheep Creek Irrigation Company's Long Park in the stages for many was begun last summer and will continue this The project will yield supplemental irrigation benefits to about acres in Lucerne Valley area and will provide water for municipal recreation and wildlife The dam will not be located on a stream It will be approximately feet high and feet It will receive water from an existing diversion dam and canal system with about 6 miles of canal being The dam is about fifty percent The project is expected to cost about million The reservoir will cover nearly surface acres and will be served by a boat toilets and two parking Reservoir storage capacity will be acre with acre feet of on the The rights to the dead storage will be held by the Utah Department of Wildlife In acre feet of water will be available to enhance the stream flow of Lower Sheep Creek and therefore the fishery the Sheep Creek Irrigation Company has been contemplating the installation of hydroelectric generation in conjunction with the |