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<br />in the Colorado portion of the study area. In more recent years,
<br />growth in the Colorado port ion, especi ally the Denver metropol i tan
<br />area, has heavily influenced the overall growth rate for the study
<br />area. Table 1 shows the 1930-1978 population figures for each state
<br />portion of the study area and the entire Upper Platte River Basin.
<br />
<br />Table 1.--Population in Upper Platte River Basin 1930-1978
<br />Subarea 193ol/ 1940li 195W I96W 1970l! 197aY
<br />Wyomi n9 103,143 110,950 140,388 171,501 170,718 219,435
<br />Colorado 781,195 619,604 789,785 1,125,508 1,480,306 1,814,100
<br />Nebr aska 222,852 223,716 233,629 244,674 254,070 270,582
<br />Total study area 1,107,190 954,270 1,163,802 1,541,683 1,905,094 2,304,117
<br />
<br />lJ
<br />
<br />Taken from "Number of Inhabitants," Census of Popul ation,
<br />U.S. Bureau of Census.
<br />
<br />~
<br />
<br />Taken from: Wyomin9 Popul ation and Employment Forecast, State of
<br />Wyoming, June 1979. Colorado Population Reports, Colorado Division
<br />of Planning, Colorado, August 1979. University of Nebraska News,
<br />Bureau of Business Research, Lincoln, Nebraska, June 1979.
<br />
<br />The annual growth rate for the Upper Platte River Basin is 1.54 percent
<br />for the 49-year period. For the three subareas, Wyoming, Colorado, and
<br />Nebraska, the annual growth rates are 1.59, 1.77, and 0.41 percent,
<br />respectively.
<br />
<br />The influence of the Denver metropol itan area can be seen in the 1978
<br />population figures. Of the 2,304,117 persons in the study area, more
<br />than 1,500,000 resided in the Denver metropolitan area. Other urban
<br />concentrations include Fort Collins and Greeley, Colorado; Cheyenne and
<br />Casper, Wyomin9; and Grand Island, Nebraska. These communities in
<br />1978 had a combined popul ation of nearly 379,000. They, together with
<br />the Denver metropo 1 i tan area, i ncl ude approximate ly 82 percent of the
<br />total population in the Upper Platte River Basin.
<br />
<br />Energy resources development and its support functions have been
<br />instrumental in some substantial increases in population growth
<br />since 1970. Most of these have occurred in the greater Denver area
<br />and the ener9Y resource areas of Wyomi n9, such as Casper. With the
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