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<br />CI': <br /> <br />'- <br /> <br />00 <br />.C\J <br />('C" <br />'-. <br /> <br />b. <br /> <br />Impacts from Demographic and Land Use Changes <br /> <br />The amount of irrigated farmland to be lost to urban <br />development (about 35,000 acres under each alternative over the 50-year <br />period) amounts to less than 5 percent of the total farmland now being <br />irrigated. The amount of currently undeveloped desert land to be urbanized <br />within the M&I allottee service areas over the 50 year period is about 165,000 <br />acres under each alternative. <br /> <br />The difference in land use changes among the alternatives <br />is most apparent with regard to the retirement of farmland. Farmland is <br />projected to be retired under all alternatives for acquisition of <br />grandfathered water rights. The alternative allocations would result in from <br />less than 2,000 acres to almost 7,000 acres of such farmland retirement over <br />the 50 year repayment period (see Appendix C.). It will take a period of time <br />(years) before any kind of natural vegetation is reestablished on this land. <br />In addition, it will mean the loss of farm revenues for those now cultivating <br />the land. <br /> <br />Another impact of retiring farmland is the added <br />particulate matter in the area of the abandoned fields. Retiring farmland <br />would exaggerate the already existing problem of dust storms and fugitive dust <br />until vegetation has recovered sufficiently to alleviate the problem. <br /> <br />Eight of the 12 Indian communities which may be allocated <br />a CAP water supply could use their CAP water for irrigation, industrial <br />development or some other use. Anticipated changes in land use are not <br />expected to be significant. For example, the existing combined developed <br />acreage of all eight tribes is approximately 3,000 acres, or less than <br />I percent of the total reservation area. Implementation of the maximum <br />proposed allocation could allow for the subsequent conversion to agriculture <br />of about 10,600 acres. This would amount to less than 1 percent of the total <br />vegetation area leaving the other 99 percent of the wildlife habitat on those <br />reservations unaffected. In addition, when compared to the 31,148,000 acres <br />of similar southern desert shrub, grassland, woodland, and chaparral mountain <br />brush in the Gila subregion of the Lower Colorado Basin (Pacific Southwest <br />Interagency Committee, 1971) this potential decrease of 10,600 acres would not <br />be significant. <br /> <br />The other four reservations would be limited to irrigation <br />use of the CAP water. Much CAP irrigation water use will take place on lands <br />that were historically developed for irrigation use. Not all of these lands <br />are currently irrigated. About 47,100 acres are currently irrigated on these <br />four reservations, and there are approximately 51,500 acres of developed lands <br />which are not currently irrigated. Under the worst case scenario no more than <br />19,600 acres of undeveloped 1 ands woul d be developed for agri culture. Thi s <br />amounts to less than 4 percent of the undeveloped land on the reservations. <br /> <br />The impacts on fish and wildlife from the development of <br />new agri cultura 1 1 ands, or from the redevelopment of hi stori ca lly developed <br />lands, would be generally similar. Wildlife species indigenous to desert <br />communities or that have repopulated the nonirrigated fields will be replaced <br /> <br />11 <br />