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<-= C() ~ Smith Fork Project 3 .:;"\ >;-"""; .'.....:.. --........ -- ~- - ~ 1*;"" l!lI ~~ Crawford Dam and Reservoir Clipper Canal Clipper Canal feeds from Aspen Canal and rUlls to the west a dista.nce of about 0.5 mile. The initial capacity of the canal is (i0 cubic feet per second. DEVELOPMENT Early Hislory Delta County, along with most of western Colorado1 was originally inhabited by the Ute Indians. Early settlement of the area was retarded by hostility between the Indians and the immigrants. In ]881, a compromise agreement was reached between the Federal Government and the Ute Indians which required the Indians to locate in the Uintah Heservation in the Territory of Utah. After this agreement, settlement of the area progressed rapidly. Most of the impetus of the initial settlement period was provided by discoveries of rich deposits of gold, silver, and other minerals in the mountainous areas near the Continental Divide. Agricultural development proceeded at a slower rate but was much more uniform and stable. Farms were developed along the valleys, towns were established near the mines and the agricultural com- munities, and construction of railroads to the trade and mining centers was begun. Investigations The Smith Fork Project was mentioned briefly in Reclamation's basin-type report of March 1946 on the Colorado River. In 1951, Reclamation issued a detailed report on the Smith Fork Project as a supplement to the 1951 report on the Colorado River Storage Project and participating projects. This second report, amended in October 1953, was the basis on which the project was authorized.