Laserfiche WebLink
<br />027!~ <br /> <br />Colorado at Colorado Springs. The Ft. Lyon and Fort Lyon Storage canals, and associated off channel <br />reservoirs (Horse Creek Reservoir, Adobe Creek Reservcir, in j Thurston of the Fort Lyon system, and <br />the Great Plains Reservoirs of the Amity system) significandy impact the environment of southeastern <br />Colorado. The Great Plains Studv previously conducted by Kiowa County, the ongoing study of Boyle <br />Engineering of the Great Plains System, and DOW and FWS environmental studies associated with <br />John Martin Reservoir operations would be reviewed. <br /> <br />Specific social, economic, and environmental elements to be described in Task 3B include: <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />From current existing data, profile the economic, social, and demographic characteristics of the <br />Ft. Lyon Canal water users and the surrounding community populations. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Make reasonable projections for 10-30 years in the future, without considering implementation <br />of the various alternatives discussed in Task 4. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Identify and quantify the on farm/off fann effects of current levels of agricultural production <br />as to: <br /> <br />economic influences, level of significance, relationships to non-agricultural enterprise <br />and the local communities, level of invesnnent of Ft. Lyon Canal shareholders, <br />employment by sectors, local tax base and local government budgets; summarize and <br />characterize relationships and trends. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Water quality considerations on crops, cropping patterns, and land use, by selected subareas <br />of the service area. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Wildlife habitat in and around springs, tailwater ponds, bogs, wedands, open drains and <br />ditches, as well as in incidentally irrigated hedgerows. Because of the length of the canals, <br />and multiplicity of laterals significant habitat presendy exists for a variety of game and non- <br />game wildlife, including mammals and upbnd birds. <br />___. ~ ,...A.. or- <br />Threatened and endangered species at the-SJreat Plains Res~ and below John Martin <br />reservoir include the piping plover, Arkansas dmer, peregrine falcon, lesser tern, lesser prairie <br />chicken. and black-footed ferret, and candidate species including the mountain plover, snowy <br />plover, long-billed curlew, white-faced ibis, Texas homed lizard, and the swift fox. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Threatened species such as eagles and other raptors which nest in cottonwoods adjacent to <br />the canal, laterals, and seeps. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Migratory wildfowl flyway habitat and open water fields. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Wedands created by canal seepage, and outcrops of return flows from ditch seepage and <br />irrigation. K <br /> <br />Recreational opportunities created by water storage in all the Ft. Lyon, Great Plains, and JO~~~ . <br />Martin storage pools. -1, <br />v <br /> <br />Fishery at the reservOirs. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />13 <br />