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<br />0172 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Agricultural Economy <br /> <br />Adverse effects were evaluated for 16,000 acres of joint use <br />rights-of-way lands removed from agricultural production. The lands <br />to be ac~uired for rights-of-way total 36,246 acres, but adverse <br />effects on irrigation benefits have not been computed on 20,246 acrec <br />for the following reasons: (a) 3,410 acres are being ac~uired specifi- <br />cally for recreation and fish-wildlife enhancement; (b) 6,810 acres <br />are lands to be ac~uired specifically for fish-wildlife mitigation; <br />(c) 2,130 acres are lands on which production would remain essentially <br />unchanged since they would be retained in private ownership with <br />attached flood easements; (d) 7,030 acres are irrigated lands from <br />which losses would be negligible because the water rights, the princi- <br />pal factor of production, would be transferred to project use; (e) <br />866 acres are river channel and wastelands from which agricultural <br />production is negligible. <br /> <br />Present land use on the 16,000 acres of rights-of-way for which <br />adverse effects were computed is as follows: l~,lOO acres is in native <br />grass used for pasture, and 1,900 acres is dry-farmed cropland with <br />about one-half of this acreage planted to wheat and the remaining <br />one-half retained in a fallow status. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />In addition to irrigation benefits stemming from the unit water <br />supply, annual benefits of $16,000 would accrue to the Narrows Unit <br />as a direct saving in OM&R costs now assessed against the users of <br />the Fort Morgan canal. These benefits consist of $14,000 annual <br />savings to the beneficiaries of Jackson Lake water supply by transfer <br />of Jackson Lake storage to Narrows Reservoir and $2,000 annual savings <br />due to elimination of the river diversion facilities and the initial <br />6.2 miles of the Fort Morgan canal. <br /> <br />EXCESS LAND <br /> <br />Federal reclamation law limits the delivery of project water to <br />not more than 160 irrigable acres per individual owner (320 irrigable <br />acres in the case of husband and wife) unless the landowner agrees to <br />dispose of his irrigable lands in excess thereof at prices which do <br />not reflect any increase in value brought about by the availability of <br />project water. Also, the law imposes certain limits on the price at <br />which irrigable lands may be sold and be eligible to receive project <br />water even though the original owner chooses not to take project water <br />for his eXcess land. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Estimates of excess acres of irrigable lands in the unit area are <br />summarized in table 20. The estimates are based on a land classifica- <br />tion acreage of 210,215, which is 43,845 acres larger than the Narrows <br />Unit service area. Total excess land was estimated as 25,817 acres, <br /> <br />81 <br />