Laserfiche WebLink
<br />o <br />oc <br /> <br />- <br />.... <br /> <br />'- <br /> <br />Proposed Project Development <br /> <br />The project will provide additional irrigation water supplies for 6,920 <br />acres of presently irrigated land and 1,320 acres of nonirrigated land. <br />Surplus flows in Iron Creek will be stored in the proposed Crawford <br />Reservoir on that stream. Water will also be diverted from Smith Fork <br />of the Gunnison River into this reservoir. Crawford Reservoir water will <br />be conveyed to most of the project lands through the proposed Aspen Canal. <br /> <br />Evaluation of Expected Direct Agricultural Benefits <br /> <br />Evaluation Areas <br /> <br />For purposes of the analysis, project lands were grouped into five evaluation <br />areas. The soils, climate, water supply and other physical factors in each <br />evaluation area reflect similar crop adaptations, productivity, land develop- <br />ment requirements and production costs. <br /> <br />Project lands in each evaluation area are treated as a unit in the several <br />phases of the analysis, and farm incomes and direct agricultural benefits <br />are determined for each evaluation area and the project as a whole. <br /> <br />Evaluation area A includes 1,796 acres of project lands in the upper Smith <br />Fork Basin, upstream and east of the town of Crawford. Evaluation area B <br />includes 2,234 acres of land on the eastern part of Grandview Mesa and on <br />the lower Cottonwood Creek drainage. Evaluation area C includes 3,017 <br />acres of land in the western part of Grandview Mesa. Evaluation area D <br />compri ses 540 acres of nonirri gated land on the western part of Grandview <br />Mesa. Evaluation area E includes 653 acres of project lalds along the <br />lower Smi th Fork River and those lands in the northeast portion of the <br />project. <br /> <br />The 1,320 acres of nonirrigated land proposed to receive project irrigation <br />water are interspersed throughout evaluation areas A, B, C, and D. Generally <br />these lands will become part of existing farm units. The nonirrigated lands <br />described in evaluation area D are analyzed separately because they consti tute <br />the largest area of nonirrigated land in the project and will probably provide <br />the only new farm units. <br /> <br />Soils <br /> <br />Basic soils data were obtained from a standard soil survey completed by the <br />Soil Conservation Service in 1957. Soil data tabulated from this survey <br />covers the lands within the project boundaries delineated by the Bureau of <br />Reclamation. Based on this survey, it is concluded that the 8,240 acres of <br />project land, less 6 percent (494 acres) for roads, farmsteads, etc., are <br />suitable for cultivation under irrigation. <br /> <br />ii <br />