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<br />0J <br />r...::> <br />00 <br />N <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />and some drifts at those elevations may last through the <br />summer. <br /> <br />Temperatures vary notably with elevation as well as season. <br />Average monthly temperatures vary from a low of 290F in <br />January to a high of 710F in July. Frosts may occur during <br />any month in the hi gh mountains, but frost-free peri ods in <br />the lower porti on of the area 1 ast an average of 120 days <br />and may 1 ast as long as 154 days. The growi ng season, the <br />days above 280F, averages 157 days but may extend to <br />191 days. Prevailing westerly winds help lengthen the <br />frost-free period and growing season. <br /> <br />POPULATION <br /> <br />The 1977 population of the project area and nearby towns was <br />estimated at about 6,210, based on a special census taken by <br />the Bureau of the Census. The total includes an urban <br />population of 3,480 (2,244 in the town of Rifle), and a <br />rural population of 2,730. There are essentially no minor- <br />ities in the area. <br /> <br />The population growth rate for the vicinity of the project <br />has historically been quite variable. The average annual <br />increase for the project area and nearby towns was 0.8 per- <br />cent from 1930 to 1977. The urban areas generally showed a <br />population increase each decade, while the rural areas <br />showed a general decline until 1970-77, when a substantial <br />increase was noted. This recent growth in rural population <br />reflects residential development just outside the corporate <br />limits of Rifle and Silt. These increases are believed to <br />result from an influx of people attracted to the area by <br /> <br />A-5 <br />