REPORT ON THE
FISHING, HUNTING AND RECREATIONAL ASPECTS
OF THE
PROPOSED BRIDGE AND MARBLE CANYON
COLORADO RIVER PROJECTS
ARIZONA GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
May, 1960 INTRODUCTION
Under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of August 12, 1958,
Public Law 85-264, amending the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of
March 10, 1934, as amended in 1946, it is the responsibility of the Arizona
Game and Fish Department to report on the fish and wildlife aspects of any
federal water resource development program, or any development by any
public or private agency under federal permit or license, and to recommend
measures which will prevent loss of and damage to fish and wildlife resources,
as well as provide for the improvement of these resources in connection with
such water developments. Under the laws of the State of Arizona, Section
17-231 ARS, the Department is charged with the responsibility of managing,
maintaining and improving the fish and wildlife resources of the State.
As a result of the above responsibilities, the Director and various
members of the Arizona Game and Fish Department have visited the proposed
Bridge and Marble Canyon sites by air and ground, the Bridge Canyon site by
river boat, and made studies of the fish, wildlife and recreational potentials
of the two development proposals. These investigations have been closely
coordinated with the Arizona Power Authority and its staff members. Personnel
. of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service have provided valuable information also.
The Colorado River and Little Colorado River developments are
proposed by the Arizona Power Authority of Phoenix, Arizona under application
to the Federal Power Commission, dated July, 1958, and an amendment of the -2-
application dated November 1, 1959, for a license under Project No. 2248.
The Arizona Power Authority operates as a statewide power agency, marketing power from Hoover and Davis Dams and power purchased from
steam generating plants, totalling about one billion kilowatt hours annually.
Transmission is over Bureau of Reclamation lines under a contract terminating in 1987.
The City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has applied for a license to construct a dam at the Bridge Canyon site, and one on the
Little Colorado River at what is known as the Coconino site. The proposals, designated as Project No. 2272, are substantially the same as two of the developments proposed by the Arizona Power Authority under Project No.
2248, and the applicati on No. 2272 is in conflict.
Several bills have been introduced in Congress to authorize the
Bureau of Reclamation to construct a "high dam" at the Bridge Canyon site.
This report will refer to the proposed developments of the Arizona
Power Authority, but wherein applicable all comments and recommendations are to be considered as relative to the City of Los Angeles application or any other similar developments proposed on the Colorado or L i ttle Colorado
River. - 3-
PROJECT PROPOSALS
The Arizona Power Authority proposes to construct a concrete arch dam at the Bridge Canyon site and another at the Marble Canyon site, each within the inner gorge of the Colorado River, for the purpose of developing hydroelectric power. In addition, two earth fill silt detention dams are proposed on the Little Colorado River drainage, one at the
Moenkopi site and the other at the Tolchico site, to prolong the life of the
Bridge Canyon project. In that the Bridge and Marble Canyon dams will be operated for hydroelectric power production, the surface elevation of the res.ervoirs behind them will fluctuate very little under normal operation.
Construction is expected to begin on the Marble Canyon Dam four years after construction is begun at Bridge. • The location of each dam site and the reservoir areas behind each of the proposed dams will be described briefly, followed by a discussion of the recreational aspects of each.
DAM AND RESERVOIR LOCATIONS
Bridge Canyon
The Bridge Canyon dam site is about 20 airline miles north of
Peach Springs, Arizona, approximately 50 miles northeast of Kingman, in unsurveyed Section 22, Township 28 North, Range 12 West, at river mile 237. 5. This is approximately 117 miles above Hoover Dam. The waters of Lake Mead at maximum capacity will reach near the base of
Bridge Canyon Dam. -4-
The stream bed at the Bridge Canyon site is at Elevation 1200, approximately, and it is proposed to construct the dam to Elevation 1625 with the spillway at Elevation 1610. With the normal tailwater elevation at 1220 the reservoir will be about 390 feet deep at the dam.
The lake area will extend approximately 50 miles upstream and to within about five miles of the west boundary of the Grand Canyon
National Monument. It will cover approximately 6,400 acres and store about
820, 000 acre feet of water. The south side of the dam and impoundment area falls within the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the north side within the Lake Mead Recreational Area.
The lake shoreline will fall well within the inner gorge of the
Colorado River. The rim of this inner gorge is at about Elevation 2000 at the dam site and throughout the reservoir area the almost perpendicular walls of this inner gorge varies from 700 to 1,000 feet high. The outer rim of the canyon itself is at about Elevation 4600 to 4800, some 2,600 to 3,000 feet above the rim of the inner gorge. With the dam spillway at Elevation 1610, the reservoir shoreline will be 300 to 600 feet below the rim of the inner gorge and 3,000 to 3,400 feet below the outer rim, and access to the 50 mile long picturesque lake will not be readily available for recreational purposes unless provisions for such access are made.
The proposed dam will be a double-curvature arch section 1, 100 feet long, with two gravity sections 17 5 feet long and a gated spillway section 243 feet long. The power houses will be located downstream -5- from the dam. Four turbines will be installed initially with provisions for the addition of four more. The dam will be constructed so that it can be raised 256 feet, to Elevation 1866. This will be comparable to the
"high dam" which has been considered by the Bureau of Reclamation.
Marble Canyon
The Marble Canyon site is located just east of the Grand Canyon
National Park boundary, about 85 miles north of Flagstaff, at river mile
39. 5 or about 40 miles below Lee's Ferry, and 55 miles below the Glen
Canyon Dam. The area is unsurveyed. At spillway elevation the impounded lake will reach to the Glen Canyon Dam.
The stream bed at the Marble site is at about Elevation 2825. The spillway will be at Elevation 3130 with a 290 feet depth above the tailwater.
The lake area will extend 55 miles, cover 5300 surface acres and contain 480,000 acre feet of water. The area on the south is all within the
Navajo Indian Reservation, on the north, U. S. National Fore st and public domain. For a distance of about ten miles within the forest the north shore rim is on the Game and Fish Commission House Rock Buffalo Range which is also an important winter range of the famous Kaibab deer herds. Here the Department has developed extensive pipe lines from springs,transplanted antelope, constructed an attractive area supervisor's headquarters and generally improved the historical 80, 000 acre deer and buffalo range during the past 20 years. -6-
The major portion of this lake area also falls within the almost
vertical 700 to 1,000 foot high walls of the inner gorge of the river canyon.
This inner rim is at about Elevation 3600 at the dam site, From here the
canyon walls slope up precipitously to the plateau at about Elevation 5800.
Thus the surface of the lake at the dam will be almost 500 feet below the inner rim, about 2670 feet below the quite accessible plateau, At the upper end of the lake the distance from the plateau to the water surface decreases .
There is no known place that existing foot trails reach the proposed lake
shore line below Lee's Ferry.
The proposed concrete arch dam will be 700 feet long at the crest with spillways at each end. Four power turbines will be installed initially with provisions made to add two more at a later date.
Tolchico Dam
The earth fill silt detention dam site is 102 miles up the Little
Colorado River, six miles upstream from Grand Falls, and•approximately
40 air miles northeast of Flagstaff. It will be 490 feet in length, about
80 feet high and at its 600,000 acre foot capacity will impound a lake with about 28,000 surface acres. Uncontrolled outlets will be provided near the bottom of the dam. The entire development will be on the Navajo
Indian Reservation. -7-
Moenkopi Dam
This earth and rock fill dam site is on Moenkopi Wash about a half mile above its junction with the Little Colorado River, two miles west of Cameron, along Highway 89 and 54 miles from Flagstaff. It will be 1300 feet long at the crest, about 130 feet high, impound about 1,000
surface acres and 50,000 acre feet at the spillway, Elevation 4230.
Plans include the possibility of eventually raising the dam and spillway
30 feet. Three uncontrolled outlets will be provided, at Elevations 4150,
4178 and 420 5. The development site is on the Navajo Indian Reservation.
It is estimated that the two Little Colorado River developments will impound an average of 9, 000 acre feet of sediment annually, reducing the sediment inflow to the Colorado above Bridge Canyon by 60%. It is planned to initiate construction on these two dams about five years after the Bridge Canyon project is completed.
RECREATIONAL ASPECTS
Although the Arizona Game and Fish Department's responsibility is the management of the hunting and fishing resources of the State, these forms of recreation, especially fishing, cannot be segregated easily from other outdoor recreational activities such as picnicking, hiking, boating, water skiing, swimming sports, motoring and sightseeing in analyzing the recreational use of an extensive lake development. Although the majority -8- of a family or group on a vacation or an outing may participate in any one or several recreational activities listed above, fishing or hunting may be the motivating factor of the trip. In like manner they may be the motivating factor of a fishing or hunting trip. Therefore this analyzation will consider the general recreational aspects of Bridge and Marble Canyon dams.
Not many years ago recreational areas were considered as of value only as a place to go for those who had nothing better to do.
Now they are recognized as national necessi ties for two basic reasons ,
One, to provide emotional outlets in the utilization of our exploding population's increasing leisure time resulting from shorter working hours, longer weekends, longer vacations, earlier retirement, longer life and greater mobility. Second, and of lesser importance, is the tremendous impact on the nationa~ state and local economy of expendi- tures resulting from recreational pursuits. A tangible dollar sign can be placed on this economic value, making it more easily understood.
Quite easily understood in Arizona and the southwest where tourism and recreation are classed now along with agriculture, mining and industry in importance to the economy of a county, the state and the region.
A recent report of the University of Arizona's Bureau of
Business and Public Research places the current estimate of tourist
expenditures at "not less than $470 million in Arizona each year". *
* "A Billion Dollar Tourist Business for Arizona?"- - University of Arizona Bureau of Business and Public Research, Arizona Business and Economic Review, April, 1959. -9-
The total output or product of manufacturing, agriculture and mining in the State, according to the report, is estimated at $460 , $374 and $373 million respectively. Most of the tourist expenditure stays within the
State, while part of the income from the other three industries is used for out-of-state purchases and investments. "In a strictly economi c sense a tourist dollar is worth more to the State than a dollar product of manufacturing, mining or agriculture" the report concludes.
In 1956 a statistically sound survey disclosed that expenditures of fishermen amounted to $24,000,000 in Arizona that year , of hunters,
$21,000,000. * The $43,000,000 total was almost half the total mining payrolls of the State in 1956; over half the dollar value of all the cattle and calves produced; eight times the value of all the sheep, lambs and wool; over eight times the value of all the citrus produced in the State.
Since 1956 in three years the State's population has increased
19%. Hunting and fishing license sales have increased 30%.
In 19 54 the Arizona Highway Department Division of Economics and Statistics, in cooperation with the National Park Service, conducted travel surveys of the Grand Canyon National Park. Of the 814,000 visitors to the Park that year , 92. 4% traveled in 229 , 300 vehicles and spent an average of $14. 17 per person. In the Park vicinity a total of $10,600 , 000 was spent by these people. Throughout the State of Arizona visitors to the
Park by car spent $19,095,000 in 1954.
Visitations to the G r and Canyon have increased 43 . 6% since 1954, to 1, 168,800 in 1959 , and the cost of living index has increa sed 8 . 5%.
11 >!< The E c onomic Value of Hunting and Fishing in Arizona in 19 56 - - Arizona Game and Fish Department. -10-
The Bridge and Marble Canyon projects are destined to materially aid the economic developments of the State and region through the production of needed hydroelectric power. We believe that a careful consideration of the recreational potentials of the reservoir areas will disclose that another major economic asset to the State and region is certain to result with a minimum of pl~.nning.
FACTORS INFLUENCING RECREATIONAL USE
There are numerous factors that influence the recreational use of a large developed recreational area. A few of the more obvious are location, water, scenic nature of the vicinity, climate, fishing opportunity and a ccess.
There is a great similarity in the consideration of these factors at the Bridge and Marble Canyon sites.
Location:
The 400 miles of the Colorado River Canyon from the Utah border through Boulder Canyon below Hoover Dam is located in the most scenic, picturesque and tourist inspiring region of the continent. This statement is proven by the great number of National parks, monuments and recreational areas in the region. They include Bryce, Zion, Mesa Verde and G r and
Canyon National Parks; Rainbow Bridge, Navajo, Wupatki, Sunset Crater,
Cedar Breaks, Canyon de Chelly, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon and
Death Valley National Monuments and the Lake Mead and Glen Canyon
Recreational Areas. More out-of- state tourists a re attracted to these areas annually than to any other group of regional scenic and recreational area s. -11-
Because of the mild southwest climate, winter tourists and summer vacationists, almost all are used heavily year long, thereby providing yearlong economic benefits.
Fourteen of the fifteen above national recreational attractions are serviced directly by U. S. H ighways 89 and 66 feeding tourist travel into Arizona from the north, east and west. Highway 89 crosses the
Marble Canyon reservoir site and passes wi thin 18 miles of the dam site.
The Bridge Canyon site is but 20 miles from Highway 66.
The transcontinental Highway 66 junctions with access roads to the Bridge Canyon Dam and to the lake at Diamond Creek will be about halfway between the world famous Grand Canyon National Park South Rim, which was visited by 1,003,000 people in 1959, and the Lake Mead area which was visited by 3,470,000 in 1959. Over a half million people stopped to take a tour through the man-made concrete arch, Hoover Dam.
Recreational developments in connection with the Bridge Canyon dam and lake with out doubt will attract a great number of the l, 000, 000 annual visitors to the Grand Canyon South Rim and the 3 , 500, 000 annual visitors to the Lake Mead area. It will be less than half the di stance from
Hi ghway 66 to the Bridge Canyon dam, and to the lake by way of Diamond
Creek, than to the Grand Canyon South Rim. With a 50 mile long, blue lake well within the Grand Canyon gorge, which is almost as spectacular as and more comprehensible than at the Grand Canyon National Park, and the prospect of traveling through a mile long tunnel from the outer rim to -12- the inner rim, a Bridge Canyon recreational area may become as popular eventually as the Grand Canyon National Park if adequate access is provided.
The Marble Canyon dam and lake, immediately below Glen
Canyon dam and the 186 mile long Powell Lake, will be located in the path of tens of thousands of vacationists annually. The National Park Service estimates that the Glen Canyon Recreational Area will have over 1,000,000 visitors annually by 1966. Many of these people will be attracted to the unique nearby Marble Canyon trout lake. Again a trip through a tunnel from the flat plateau of the outer rim into the Canyon gorge will provide an additional incentive to visit the dam area.
The constant flow of cold water from Glen Canyon will provide a 55 mile long clear lake which will have some of the aspects of a wide, deep trout stream, readily available from U. S. Highway 69 at Lee's
Ferry and elsewhere if access is provided. Federal and State hatchery facilities will provide adequate plantings of trout, some of which will grow to trophy size.
It seems quite evident that the location of the Bridge and Marble
Canyon developments could hardly be more conducive to high recreational use, much of it by out-of-state visitors.
Water
The highly desirable water requirement for a recreational area will be available in the form of a 6,400 surface acre lake at Bridge, a
5, 000 surface acre lake at Marble. Shoreline fluctuations will be at a minimum. -13-
It will not be just ordinary water. The sediment reduction behind
Glen Canyon Dam and the two Little Colorado River developments will
result in clear, cool water.
Scenic Nature
Only the world famous Grand Canyon National Park can provide more scenic grandeur and, except to the few who make mule back trips, the scenic attraction will be as great at Bridge, with Marble only slightly less interesting. The opportunity to drive to the rim of the inner gorge within the Grand Canyon of the Colorado through tunnels over a mile long and the opportunity to take a boat trip on a 50 mile long lake near the bottom of the Grand Canyon will provide a scenic opportunity that can be found at no place on the continent today.
Climate
The year around mild climate at the Bridge and Marble sites with the days almost invariably affording the famed Arizona sunshine and invigorating air can be excelled in few places throughout the world. The generally dry air attracts many who do not care for, or do not consider healthful, the humid seashore recreational regions.
Recreational developments at either site will have year long use.
Non-residents will predominate. -14-
Fishing Opportunity
Both of the lakes behind the Bridge and Marble dams are certain
to provide excellent fishing. The Marble Canyon Lake will be trout water
because of the cold temperatures of releases from Glen Canyon Dam. Bridge will permit warm water fishery management with a trout fishery a distinct possibility, at least in the easterly portion of the lake. Diversified trout
and warm water fishing in the same lake is an unusual fishing incentive.
Below both dams the Colorado will become an unusually scenic trout river if the penstock inlets at the dams are located low enough to insure
released water temperatures that are cold enough for trout, or not over 55° at the dams. Water studies below Hoover, Davis, Parker and the Salt River
reservoirs indicate that suitable temperatures can be maintained below Bridge and Marble if the penstocks are located 70 to 100 feet below the normal surface elevations of the lakes. This will permit the thousands of people who enjoy
some of the finest bass and crappie fishing in the world on Lake Mead to go up the river gorge for diversified trout fishing in clear, cool water in a most spectacular setting.
If the temperature of water releases at Marble is sufficiently low to prevent a significant rise from the temperature of the releases at
Glen Canyon, a trout fishery throughout the Grand Canyon and in the Bridge
Canyon reservoir can be expected. >:c
* "An estimate of Potential Fishery and Related Values, Hualapai Indian Reservation", U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife report, May, 1960, and related Bureau correspondence . -15-
The addition of an adequate trout fishery will create several
times more fishing demand than one based entirely on warm water species .
The opportunity to enjoy the varied fishing throughout the Bridge
and Marble Canyon reservoirs and in the river below the dams will be hampered by access, but boat landing facilities will minimize this factor.
Access
As stated before, the 50 mile long lake behind Bridge is 3,000 to 3, 400 feet below the outer rim of the Canyon, 300 to 600 feet below the inner rim. There are but two known points where access to the lake by
road can be readily accomplished. One is at the dam where a construction
road is planned to the inner rim and to about Elevation 1625, fifteen feet above the spillway. An inspection of the dam area from the river indicated that access to the lake surface may be found practical immediately upstream from the dam about 1, 500 feet where an island and bay will be formed west of the proposed switchyard area.
The other lake access is from Peach Springs down Peach Springs
Wash to Diamond Creek, a distance of about 22 miles. A road now exists down this wash to within several miles of the river and the natural grade will permit construction of a road without switchbacks. Before the South
Rim Grand Canyon village was built, the Diamond Creek Hotel near the mouth of Diamond Creek was the most popular place in the Grand Canyon area.
At the Marble Canyon site, with a comparable drop from the
outer rim to the inner rim and to the water surface throughout much of the -16-
lake area, the only possible access to the lower and more picturesque
portion of the lake will be at the dam.
Access is already available at Lee's Ferry, 40 miles above
the dam site. High public use will be made of the lake here for excellent
trout waters will result from the cold water releases at Glen Canyon.
The preceding section on Fishing Opportunity discussed the
advisability of access below the dams. It is recognized that access is
not usually provided either immediately below or immediately above high
dams because of maintenance and public safety problems. Access at such
developments is almost invariably readily available short distances above and below the dams, however. In that such will not be the case at either
Bridge or Marble, full consideration should be given to providing access
at the dams, since costly construction roads must be built to the inner
rims at these points and public use of them should be permitted.
It may be inadvisable to permit access below Marble because
of the dangerous rapids and inaccessibility to the rive r at any point between
Marble and Phantom Ranch.
ESTIMATES OF RECREATIONAL USE
The amount of recreation use of either development will depend
upon the points of access which are made available to the lakes and to the
trout waters below the dams. The facilities for caring for visitors, daily
and overnight, will be a factor, but adequate accommodations will become
available if access is provided, -17-
At both Bridge and Marble public access to the water below and
above the dam should be fully considered in that, for constructi on purposes, an access road to the dam site, at least one elevator to the top of the dam and spillway and a cable tramway or elevator to the stream bed must be provided. Probably elevators will be constructed within the dams to reach the power houses, discharge tunnels and other operational works at the base of the dams. It seems reasonable to assume that such construction facilities can be planned for eventual public use as access to the lake surfaces and to the downstream river.
Over a half million visitors go through Hoover Dam annually using the elevators. Such use of Bridge and Marble elevators could sub stantially add to the revenue and aid in paying off the bonded indebtedness .
Hoover elevators are reached from the not too spectacular highway crossing the dam. Bridge and Marble elevators would be at the culmination of spectacular trips through tunnels to the edge of the inner rim of the Grand
Canyon gorge, 3,000 and 2,200 feet respectively below the outer rim. It is not unreasonable to expect at least a half million people to make such trips annually at both dams . A dollar charge should not seem unreasonable, the same price as the privilege to drive through many National Park gates.
At Bridge access to the proposed lake shore at Diamond Creek,
12 miles above the dam site, can now be reached by jeep where a hotel and other facilities formerly provided the most popular tourist attraction along the Grand Canyon. Here water at Elevation 1610 will back up over a mile -18- into Diamond Creek and into Peach Springs Wash to provide a spectacular
1,000 foot wide "bay". Boating and boat trip facilities here, a l ong with other developments as the demand indicates, would be quite heavily used.
Regular short boat trips to the dam and longer trips to the upper end of the lake would attract thousands of people for no other scenic attraction even remotely comparable exists today.
In 1959 there were 59, 155 visitations to Temple Bar, the most easterly Lake Mead boat launching point with facilities. In 1956 there were
19,937. Few people other than fishermen and their families make the
26 mile trip from Highway 93. With trout fishing in the unusual river canyon
85, 000 people from Lake Mead can be expected to use fishing waters below
Bridge Canyon Dam by 1970. By that time facilities will be available at
Pierce's Ferry near the entrance of Lake Mead into the Colorado River
Canyon, thus increasing the use of the trout water area.
If facilities could be provided to permit boat launching below
Bridge Canyon Dam, fishing and boating use will increase greatly for one way trips can be made to and from the many Lake Mead boat l aunching ramps.
At the Marble Canyon Lake access is already available at Lee's
Ferry, 40 miles above the dam site. If boats can be l aunched at the dam, one way boat trips will be extremely popular. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service estimates 200,000 man days of annual fishing use of the lake after a trout fishery is established.>:<
*Fishing Potential and Related Economic Opportunities, Navajo Indian Reservation, June, 1959. -19-
The basis for estimating recreational use of the Bridge and
Marble developments, if public access is made available, may be found in
the following table of annual visitations at National Parks and Monuments in the vicinity.
Annual Visitations at National Parks and Recreational Areas In and Near Northern Arizona from National Park Service Records 6 Year 1959 % of Daily 1954 1956 1959 Increase Aver . Grand Can yon National Park South Rim 724,000 905,500 1,003,050 38.5 2,748 North Rim 90,000 127,900 165,750 --84.2 454 Total 814,000 1,033,400 1,168,800 43.6 3,202
Lake Mead Rec- reational Area 2, 113,000 2,673,000 3,470, 000 64.2 9,507
Petrified Forest Nat 11 Monument 420,000 603,000 878,423 109. 1 2,407
Zion Nat'l Park 415,000 421,000 _ _5S5; .o 10 40.9 1,603
The National Park Service officially estimates 1,000, 000 visitations to the Glen Canyon Recreational Area by 1966.
A tabulation from Arizona Highway Department Planning Survey
Division studies of total vehicular travel and out-of-state cars on highway sections in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon, Lake Mead and the Bridge and
Marble access road cut off locations provides a further indication of probable use of recreational areas at these two developments. -20-
19 59 Highway Vehicular Travel in the Marble Canyon, Grand Canyon, Bridge Canyon Vicinities Highway Section All Vehicles Out-of-State Cars Daily Annual Daily Annual
H. W. 66 - Bellemont to Grand Canyon Rt. 64 Jct. 4, 195 1,531,175 2,584 943, 160
H. W. 64 to So. Boundary Grand Canyon Nat'l Park 1, 251 456,615 903 329,595
H. W. 66 - Kingman to Valentine 4,007 1,462,555 3,032 1, 106,680
H. W. 93 - Chloride Jct. to Hoover Dam 2,016 735,840 1,829 667,585
H. W. 89 - The Gap to Page Jct. 1,020 372,300 553 201,845
H. W. 89 - Page Jct. to Page 547 199,655 228 83,220
An average annual increase of 5-1 /2% is expected over the next twenty years on Highway 66. That would place the expected travel at over
1,700,000 out-of-state cars past a cut-off to Bridge Canyon in 1970, over
500, 000 out-of-state cars into the Grand Canyon. Over 1,600, 000 people may be visiting the Grand Canyon South Rim annually by 1970.
It is to be noted that almost half of the out-of-state cars traveling on Highway 66 go to the Grand Canyon; about 40% of all vehicles including commercial.
In analyzing the potential recreational use of the Bridge and Marble developments, consideration must be given to the fact that water recreation is not available at any of three National Parks and Monuments on the foregoing -21- tabulation of visitations. At the Lake Mead Recreational Area where water, not scenic attraction, is the visitation inducement, there were over three million visitors in comparison to one million at the world famous Grand Canyon.
The Bridge and Marble Canyon Lakes will have the spectacular
Grand Canyon scenic attraction, plus the inducement of being able to get into the Grand Canyon gorge without benefit of a mule, plus water recreational inducements in 50 mile long, incomparable, clear water lakes.
Fishing is always a major water recreation inducement, but it is not the only inducement. The Outboard Market, 19 58, a statistical trade report compiled by the Outdoor Boating Club of America*, summarizes the principal "fir st choice 11 reasons given by purchasers of boats and motors.
A condensation follows :
Boats Motors 1955 1957 1958 1955 1957 1958
Fishing 68.9 63.9 67.0 76.8 67.6 68.3
Cruising 18.4 17.5 20.9 11. 9 17. 5 19. 5 Skiing 2. 1 5.2 5.6 1. 6 5. 2 7.3
Hunting 8.8 8.4 5. 0 8.7 8. 7 3.7
Others 1.8 1.0 1. 5 1.0 1.0 1. 2
This table does not show the known increase in boat purchases.
It does show, however, that the increase is greater in the use of boats and motors for water recreation sports such as cruising and skiing than for fishing and hunting.
* 307 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago 1, Illinois. -22-
If "cruising" accounts for 21 % of the boat purchases nationally, and 19. 5% of the motor purchases, one can expect about SO% of the recrea- tional water attraction at the Bridge and Marble lakes to result from activities other than fishing. Yet the privilege of being able to enjoy the excellent fishing these lakes and the waters below them will provide in addition to the scenic grandeurs will be an incalculable inducement to their recreational use.
In a 1947 reconnaissance report by the National Park Service on the recreational use of the proposed Bureau of Reclamation Bridge Canyon
Dam, the following figures were given:
1947 National Park Service Report 1959 Annual Visitation Annual 1940 1946 Future Trend Visitations
Grand Canyon South Rim 329,728 435,875 500, 000 plus 1,003,000
Lake Mead Rec. Area 590,721 1,171,736 1,000, 000 plus 3,469, 000
Bridge Canyon Area 500, 000 plus
Travel counts on Highway 66 in 1941 in the Peach Springs vicinity were 1,001 autos, daily average. The above 1947 report placed the 1960 estimate at 1,600 cars daily. The 1958 actual daily average at this point was 3,150, the 1959 count 4,007, over twice the 1941 estimate for 1960. -23-
From the analyzations contained herein, with the Grand Canyon
South Rim attracting now over 1,000, 000 people annually and the Lake
Mead area 3,500,000, it is believed that it can be conservatively estimated that the Bridge Canyon development, located between these two established
recreational and tourist attractions, will have in excess of 650,000 visitations annually within three years after the dam is completed if access is provided at the dam and at Diamond Creek.
With an estimated 1,000,000 people visiting the Glen Canyon area by 1966 and the proximity of H. W. 89 to Marble Canyon Dam and Lake, it is conservatively estimated that 350,000 people will visit connected recreational facilities where a trout fishery will be established in a spectacular setting within three years after the construction of the dam.
ESTIMATED ECONOMICAL BENEFITS
In 19 54 the Arizon,a f!ighway Department Di vision of Economics and Statistics, in cooperation with the National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads, conducted a Grand Canyon travel survey.* That year
814,000 people visited the Park, 92. 4% cairte in 229,000 automobiles with an average of 3. 3 persons per car.
Of the 229,300 cars, 214,650 were from out of state, only
14, 650 from Arizona. California contributed 48, 155 cars, Texas 17,660,
Illinois 13,815, Ohio 10,545 anp New York lO, 094,
>:c Grand Canyon Travel Survey, 19 54, Arizona Highway Department. -24-
Those visiting the South Rim stayed an average of I. 3 days
and spent an a v erage of $13. 18 each in the Park vicinity. Those visiting
the North Rim stayed an average of I. 6 days and spent an average of
$20. 13 each in the Park vicinity.
The average car party spent $46. 50 in the Park vicinity, or ' $ 10 , 630, 000 throughout the year.
The area of economic influence was 300 miles. 83% of the
cars stayed in Arizona the night before entering the Park, 68% the night
after. The average car party spent $83. 25 in Arizona. With 3 . 3 people per car each person spent, on the average , $25. 23 in Arizona.
People visiting the Grand Canyon National Park in out-of-state
cars during 19 54 spent $ I 9,095, 000 in Arizona.
The cost of living index has risen 8. 5% since 19 54. The total park visitation increased 43. 6% from 1954 through 1959. Extending the
1954 survey figures and cost of living index, the I, 003 , 000 visitors in
1959 to the South Rim spent approximately $16,500,000 in the South Rim vicinity. $29,500,000 was spent in Arizona in 1959 by people visiting the Grand Canyon Nati onal Park in out-of-state cars.
At the Bridge and Marble Lakes , with water recreation as an added inducement, the average length of a visitation can be expected to be longer than at the Grand Canyon. Assuming that the conservative estimate of 650,000 people who will visi t the Bridge Canyon Lake annually
spent only the same amount as the average 1959 Park visitor , $13. 18 plus an 8 . 5% cost of living increase, or $14. 28, $9,280,000 will be spent -25- annually in the Bridge Canyon Lake vicinity beginning three years after the dam is built. Those same people will begin spending about $16,000, 000 annually in the State.
The conservative estimate of 350,000 people who will visit the
Marble Canyon Lake, on the same basis will be spending $8,800,000 in
Arizona within three years after the dam is built.
During the 1954 Grand Canyon survey, 93. 6% of the people entering the Park in cars were non-residents. The 7. 6% who arrived by rail, bus and air were almost all non-residents. Therefore the $24,800,000 conservative estimate of expenditures in Arizona as a result of recreational access at the Bridge and Marble Canyon developments will be almost entirely out-of-state money.
No known, analytical, projected estimates of hunting, fishing and recreational use by the National Park Service, U. S. Forest Service or our Department, or expenditures resulting therefrom, have been as high as the actual use and expenditures were found to be by the time the projected estimates were applicable . -26-
RECOMMENDATIONS
In order to permit adequate fishing, hunting and other recreational uses of the Bridge Canyon and Marble Canyon developments, i n the public interest and as a major aid to the economy of the State, the following recommendations are made:
1. Construction access roads to the dam s i tes shall be designed to permit public use after the projects have been completed.
2. Due to the lack of access to the river below the Bridge and
Marble Canyon sites and to the reservoir areas above, which is normally present in the vicinity of large dams and reservoirs, full consideration should be given to the design of tramways, elevators and similar construction, operation and maintenance facilities to permit eventual public use for access to the lake surfaces at normal operating levels and to the river below the dams. 3. Access to the reservoir shorelines shall not be denied by the licenses at any point, subject to certain necessary r estrictions to assure public and project safety.
4. The necessity for boat landing and au.t omobile parking facilities at all available points on the shorelines of the reservoirs and at a point on the river downstream from each dam will be recognized subject to certain necessary restrictions to assure public and project safety. -27-
5. The top entry into the penstocks shall be low enough to insure that the released water temperatures at Bridge Canyon Dam are cold enough for a trout fishery in the river below for a distance of 35 miles and low enough at the Marble Canyon Dam to prevent a significant rise in the temperatures of the Glen Canyon dam releases.
6. The licensee shall construct, maintain and operate such protective devices and comply with such reasonable modifications of the project structures and operation in the interest of fish and wildlife as may be prescribed hereafter by the Commission upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior and the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
7. The licensee shall limit the fluctuation of the project's reservoirs in order to permit successful fish spawning, during a two week period in April or May, said period to be established annually by the Arizona Game and Fish Department by a written notice ten days in advance.
8. For the safety of human life, the licensee shall provide warning devices and limit the variations in the rate of release from the
Bridge and Marble Canyon Dams to no more than that necessary to provide for the safety of those who will be on the river below.
9. The licensee shall provide for minimum instantaneous releases at Bridge and Marble Canyon Dams of not less than 4, 500 second-feet, or the inflow to Marble Canyon Reservoir, whichever is less. -28-
10. The licensee shall cooperate with the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, the Navajo Tribe, and the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife to realize where feasible fish and wildlife benefits at the proposed Tolchico and Moenkopi Dams.
SUMMARY
Proposed hydroelectric power dams at the Bridge and Marble
Canyon sites deep within the inner gorge of the Colorado River will create unique, unusually scenic 50 mile long lakes on either side of the world famous Grand Canyon National Park and Monument.
Located in the most tourist inspiring region on the continent, surrounded by 15 national parks, monuments and recreational areas, the hydroelectric developments will provide another major economic asset to the State and region if adequate recreational access is provided in pre construction planning.
The development of recreational areas is now recognized by
Congress and state legislatures as national necessities, first, to provide healthful emotional outlets in the utilization of our explosive population's increasing leisure time and, second, as a tremendous impact on the economy of the State and region from expenditures resulting from recreational pursuits.
A comprehensive survey by the Arizona Highway Department,
National Park Service and Bureau of Public Roads provides the basis for the estimated expenditure of $29,500,000 within the State of Arizona in 1959 by people visiting the Grand Canyon in out-of-state cars. .,-29-
A statistically sound 1956 Arizona Game and Fish Department survey disclosed that $24 million was spent by fishermen and $21 million by hunters in Arizona that year. In the three years since 1956 the State's population has increased 19 percent and hunting and fishing license sales
30 percent.
The University of Arizona Bureau of Business and Public
Research places the current tourist expenditures at $470 million inArizona, the current total output of manufacturing at $460 million, of agriculture at
$374 million and mining at $373 million, and states: "In a strictly economic sense a tourist dollar is worth more to the State than a dollar product of manufacturing, m i ning or agriculture" .
Recreational developments at Bridge Canyon Dam and its spectacular 6,400 surface acre lake, deep within the Grand Canyon where diversified fishing and other water recreational sports can be enjoyed, will be located between the Grand Canyon National Park south rim, which was visited by over 1,000,000 people in 19 59, and the Lake Mead Recrea tional Area which had 3,500,000 visitors in 1959. From Highway Department road count statistics and other surveys, it is conservatively estimated that
650,000 people will be visiting recreational developments at Bridge Canyon within three years after the dam construction, if adequate access is provided.
They will spend at least $16 million annually in the State.
On a similar basis it is conservatively estimated that 350,000 people will be visiting the Marble Canyon development within three years after the construction of that dam, if access is provided, and they will be -30-
spending $8,800,000 annually within the State.
No known, analytical, projected estimates of huntin g, fishing
or recreational use, or expenditures resulting therefrom, have been as high as the actual use and expenditures were found to be by the time the
projected estimates were applicable.
Ten recommendations are made in order to permit adequate access and provide public safety in connection with fishing, hunting and
other recreational uses of the Bridge and Marble Canyon developments, in the public interest and as a major asset to the economy of the State.
This report and the recommendations shall apply to any application for a license to construct a dam at or near the Bridge or
Marble Canyon dam sites for hydroelectric power generation purposes.
Reviewed and approved: Prepared by:
ith, Director 0. N . Arrington, Ch ief Arizona Game and Fish Department Lands Division