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<br />w <br />~ <br />,.. <br />~ <br /> <br />fiscal year 1985. In the Grand Valley unit in Colorado, 16 <br />automated irrigation M&E sites are now operational, and <br />full-season irrigation data have been collected on 13 <br />fields. Development of the software to process this M&E <br />data proved to be a much larger task than initially esti- <br />mated, but significant progress was made in 1985 toward <br />developing needed software. Additional programming time <br />will be required in FY 1986. <br /> <br />On the uinta Basin Unit in Utah, ground water tubes have been <br />installed on 15 farms and efforts will begin to monitor ground <br />water levels using neutron probes. Water inflow and outflow <br />measurements on these farms will be combined with data from six <br />potential evapotranspiration sites to measure deep per- <br />colation. The SCS staff is also working with Cooperative <br />Extension in Utah to establish and monitor progress in irri- <br />gation water management on four farms. <br /> <br />A plan of study for the economics M&E effort was developed <br />and approved for the Grand Valley Unit and a worksheet to <br />collect farm operations data was developed, field tested, <br />and is ready for the staff to begin collecting data <br />regarding the onfarm effect of salinity reduction activi- <br />ties. <br /> <br />wildlife habitat M&E efforts have been strongly pushed during <br />FY 1985. Baseline wildlife habitat conditions have been <br />established for 30 additional sites in the Uinta Unit, <br />bringing the total sites evaluated up to 60. Micro-computer <br />programs have also been developed to calculate a habitat <br />suitability index (HSI) for six species for each of the sites. <br />These programs will enable the ready comparison of site habi- <br />tat condition over time. On the Grand valley Unit, a Wildlife <br />M&E Annual Report for FY 1984 was prepared. The report gives <br />preliminary data regarding changes that have occurred in <br />wildlife habitat since the inception of the project. <br /> <br />EPA Activities <br /> <br />EPA has responsibility for approving revisions to water <br />quality standards and this year has approved the triennial <br />reviews adopted by several states based on the 1984 Forum <br />standards review. EPA continues to encourage the Basin <br />States to develop and implement state salinity control <br />strategies. <br /> <br />The Forum and EPA policy encouraging the use of poorer <br />quality water or saline water for industrial purposes is <br />being supported primarily through NEPA (National <br /> <br />40 <br />