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counties in Colorado, 28 counties in Nebraska, and 11 counties in Wyoming are included in the Upper Platte River Basin. The Platte River Basin extends from the southwestern portion of the Missouri River Basin in Colorado and Wyoming eastward through Nebraska. The Platte River is formed by the junction of the North and South Platte Rivers near North Platte, Nebraska. Both tributaries originate at about 14,000 feet above mean sea level in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. . . Production from irrigated land in the basin provides an important part of ~~ the area's economy. According to data compiled by Water and power from the 1974 Census of Agriculture, Bureau of Census, and U.S. Department of Commerce, the Upper Platte River Basin contained 3.9 million irrigated acres in 1974 or 47 percent of the three States' total of 8.3 million acres under irrigation. Colorado's portion of the Upper platte River Basin's irrigated acreage in 1974 was 964,000 acres or 25 percent. Nebraska had 2,095,000 acres which was 53 percent of the total; Wyoming had 872,000 acres or 22 percent. Major crops include corn, alfalfa, sugar beets, wheat, and other feed crops. A strong livestock base is supported by the irrigated feed production. This is a region of high ecosystem diversity. Plains grassland ecosystems vary greatly from west to east and include the short-grass, sagebrush, . , sand-sage, mixed-grass (including sandhills), and tall-grass types. Aquatic resources are highly varied and many have outstanding quality demanded and utilized by many people in the region and the Nation. Representative types include cold-water streams, alpine lakes, warm-water streams, sandhills wetlands and natural lakes, stream wetlands, mUltiple-purpose reservoirs, private irrigation and other single-purpose reservoirs, watershed reservoirs, stock ponds and sandpit lakes. Fisheries of national significance are located in the upper reaches of the -13-