Draft EIS_072312.pdf - Middle Fork American River Project ...

20120723-4002 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 07/23/2012
around areas that may be used as water levels recede. The McGuire Boat Ramp is 20 feet
wide and 800 feet long extending to 5,200 feet—the same elevation as the French
Meadows boat ramp. The concrete surfaced ramp has four turn-around areas that can be
used as the reservoir level recedes. Reservoir elevations for different water year types are
provided in figure 3.3.2-2 in section 3.3.2. The reservoir elevation typically fluctuates
between 5,260 and 5,190 feet with the peak usually occurring in late June.
Hell Hole boat ramp, located on the southwest end of the reservoir provides the
only boating access to Hell Hole reservoir. The Hell Hole boat ramp is about 25 feet
wide, about 1,000 feet long, extending from an elevation of 4,638 to 4,530 feet. The
concrete ramp is U-shaped with a widened turnaround area at the bend that may be used
as water levels recede. Reservoir elevations for different water year types are provided in
figure 3.3.3-3 in section 3.3.2. The reservoir elevation typically fluctuates between 4,630
and 4,500 feet with the peak usually occurring in late June. The upstream end of the
reservoir becomes inaccessible or difficult to access when the reservoir level is below
about 4,530 to 4,560 feet.
Recreational Use
The river reaches associated with the project bisect rugged terrain with limited
vehicle access. Therefore, recreation use is generally limited to areas in the immediate
vicinity of the project facilities or to areas where NFS roads and trails provide access.
Recreational uses at the upper elevations of the project in the vicinity of French
Meadows and Hell Hole reservoirs include camping at a developed site, reservoir
recreation, fishing, day use along a river or stream, day use at a developed site and day
use, or camping in undeveloped areas. The primary recreation activities at these
reservoirs are camping in developed sites and reservoir fishing; camping in the French
Meadows reservoir area is permitted only in the developed camping areas for resource
protection. At Hell Hole reservoir the steep terrain and sparse road access generally
limits dispersed use to one undeveloped area referred to as Grey Horse. More than 90
percent of the boating use is associated with fishing and non-motorized watercraft use
(e.g., kayak, canoe); ski boats and personal watercraft use account for the remaining
boating use. Most of the project recreational use, about 38,000 recreation visitor-days per
year, takes place at these two reservoirs. The Duncan Creek diversion pool (less than 2
acres) is also located in this vicinity and receives less than 400 recreation visitor-days per
year; all of this use is either dispersed day or overnight use that occurs in the vicinity of
the diversion dam and impoundment.
The mid-elevation portion of the project includes Middle Fork interbay (less than
7 acres) and North and South Long Canyon diversion pools (each less than 2 acres) and,
in general, the recreation use in this vicinity is very low. The Middle Fork interbay and
the small diversion pools are too small to provide reservoir-based recreation
opportunities. Developed site camping is the most frequent use for visitors to Long
Canyon (a non-project facility) and river angling and whitewater boating access is the
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