Imperial Valley press., 1936-12-10

into a comprehensive and coherent
program of three principal types
of projects S-overnight tourist cab
in areas, day-uSe areas, and OBJ
servation lookouts.
The service has not recommended
any definite boundaries for the
recreational reserve but its pro-
gam report covers an area of ap-
proximately $500 square miles in
the form of a rough rectangle
100 miles long from near Las
Vegas, Nevada, on the west, to
Grand Canyon National Monument
on the east, and rs miles wide
through the middle.
1t lies in the path of great
share of transcontinental railroad
and motor traffic and is very
close to many of the southwestern
national parks, monuments, and
forests. Travel to the dam has
been steadily increasing and reach
ed 1000 a day even before the
President threw the switch on
September II that started gener-
atlon OF power.
The recreational development de-
pendS largely upon the accessibility
of the area and much road build
ing is necessary. Major roads are
planned to form loop around the
reserve, with minor roads or spurs
leading to observation points, over
night cabins, and special areas of
interest. At present Boulder Dam
and Boulder City are both reached
by good roads which can be entered
either from Las Vegas or King
man, Arizona. No other points on
the lake have adequate roads.
Unreasonable scars resulting
from road construction and the
development of recreational areas,
especially those seen from the lake,
are to be prevented and all others
minimized as much as possible. The
service is opposed to any "rim,
ridge, or lake shoe" roads, but the
lake will be visible from some sec
tions of the loop road.
The lake and reservoir, formed
by Boulder Dam, winds, now wide
and open, now narrow between
canyon walls, for lis navigable
miles from near Boulder City to
the Grand Canyon of the Colorado
and extends an arm 80 miles north
up the Virgin River forming a tri-
angular development area. The
three major recfeational areas will
be located on the points of this
triangle, one at Boulder City in
connection with nearby Hemenway
on the lake in the west, one at
st. Thomas toward the northern
tip of the Virgin River arm of the
lake, and one at Pierce's Ferry in
the southeast, the first logical
crossing place on the lake below
the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.
The Park service plans overnight
accommodations for tourists at
these points, with lodges, cabins,
and other comforts provided. AT
Pierce's Ferry, the major develop
ment will be north of the ferry,
but there will also be cabins on
the south shoe for those who do
not plan to cross.
Day-uSe areas, with facilities for
picnicking, boating, bathing, sight
seeing, are suggested for early de-
velopment at six points, and, II
tourist travel increases tremendous
ly, similar areas are suggested for
future development at four other
locations. Observation points and
overlooks are suggested for Forti-
fication Hill, Hualpai Wash, and
Black Canyon.
Dude ranches are considered for
construction near Forlorn Hope
Spings, Virgin Peak and Muddy
Peak sometime in the future. The
region east of Pierce's Ferry to
Grand Canyon National Monument
will be left free of concentrated
use developments of any kind.
The extreme fluctuation of the
lake-as much as IT'S feet-makes
bathing arrangements difficult.
The CCC enrollees have completed
a beach at Hemenway and had to
cover it with great quantities of
sand because at low levels it
stretched for yards, whereas when
the water rose it was only a mar
row strip of beach. The National
Park Service is considering con-
struotion of floating bargeS and
lighthouses that will rise and fall
with the water.