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<br />SETTING <br /> <br />The Uinta Basin Unit study area is located in northeastern Utah in <br /> <br />Duchesne and Uintah Counties. The Uinta Basin lies between the Uinta <br /> <br />Mountains on the north and the Tavaputs Plateau on the south and forms a <br /> <br />part of the Green River Basin. The unit area includes lands in Ashley <br /> <br />Valley and Pleasant Valley and along lower reaches of the Duchesne and <br /> <br />Uinta Rivers. Irrigated agriculture occurs on Indian and non-Indian <br /> <br />lands. <br /> <br />Approximately 180,000 acres of land are irrigated within the Uinta <br /> <br />Basin. Water and Power's present study is limited to an area of 104,200 <br /> <br />irrigated acres. Additional studies are scheduled for the remaining <br /> <br />irrigated areas. Sixty-five main canals with a combined length of about <br /> <br />600 miles serve the area. The combined length of canals and major <br /> <br />laterals exceeds 800 miles. <br /> <br />Principal cities within the basin are Duchesne, Roosevelt, and <br /> <br />Vernal which are located along U.S. Highway 40 which proceeds east to <br /> <br />west through the area. State Highway 44 extends north from Vernal into <br /> <br />Wyoming. Much of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation lands are <br /> <br />within the basin. <br /> <br />Socioeconomic Data <br /> <br />Nearly all the irrigated lands and nearly all the population of <br /> <br />Duchesne and Uintah Counties are in the Uinta Basin Unit area. The total <br /> <br />population of the two counties in 1970 was 19,983. The population in <br /> <br />Duchesne County declined 20 percent from 1940 to 1960, largely because of <br /> <br /> <br />a diminishing need for agricultural labor. During the same period, the <br /> <br /> <br />Uintah County population remained stable because of an economy with <br />0uCS::.:3 <br /> <br />deeper roots in tourism and oil exploration. <br /> <br />5 <br />