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ro co 0; Economic Conditions c:. The general economy of Delta County is sound. Farmers in the project have maintained good credit ratings through frugal living and careful operation of their farming enterprises. Generally, the larger beef and sheep operators with federal range permits have a higher living level than operators of the more general dairy farming type. All farm operators have been hampered by irrigation water shortages. Some farm operators supplement their farm income wi th part-time work in adjoining communities. Mining, lumbering, fruit, vegetable and sugar beet processing industries offer employment in adjacent areas. Population growth from 1900-40 was slow and fairly uniform. This was attributed largely to the division of farms into smaller units and the establishment of other enterprises. Since that time, the trend has been toward larger farm units with a downward trend in population growth. The 1940 census lists Crawford with a population of 221. The 1950 census shows a total of 170. General Colorado State Highway No. 92 is the main route through the project and connects Crawford with Hotchkiss and Delta. Highway distance from Crawford to Delta is 32 miles and to Grand Junction 73 miles. Crawford has no rail facilities but a branch line of the D & RGW Railroad serves nearby Hotchkiss. The Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company and the Delta County Cooperative Telephone Company provide telephone service. An R.E.A. cooperative, the Delta-Montrose Rural Lines Association distributes electrical power within the project area. Recreational facilities are not highly developed at present; however, they are expected to become more important with the development of the project. The main attraction is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison which is located a few miles southwest of Crawford. Proposed Development The Smith Fork project will regulate surplus flows of Iron Creek and the Smith Fork of the Gunnison River and provide additional water supplies for 6,920 acres of presently irrigated land and 1,320 acres of nonirrigated land. The flows will be regulated by the proposed Crawford Reservoir on Iron Creek. Releases will be made through the Aspen Canal to serve lands on Grandview Mesa and along Cottonwood Creek. Storage water will replace some direct diversion from Smith Fork and permTt use of additional direct flows in the upper Smith Fork Basin. The Crawford Reservoir on Iron Creek, with a total initial capacity of 13,650 acre feet and an initial active capacity of 13,500 acre feet of irrigation water, would be formed by a rolled-earth and rock-fill structure approximately one mile south of the town of Crawford. - 1 -