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<br />IV. TIlE ECONOMY <br /> <br />~!!!. <br /> <br />The leading basic industries in the study area include agriculture <br />and forestry, mining, and recreation. The economy is basically oriented <br />to agricultural activities. Mining activity has declined since the late <br />1930's, but remains relatively important to the area. Recreation has <br />been of increasing importance to the area. <br /> <br />Manufacturing activity has been increasing in importance to the <br />study area during the past decade. <br /> <br />Population Characteristics <br /> <br />Population trends for the study area compared to the Gunnison <br />River Basin and the State of Colorado, are shown in Table I. The study <br />area's population increased by 6.2 percent from 1940 to 1950, followed <br />by a decrease of 6 percent from 1950 to 1960. The loss in population <br />during the 1950 to 1960 decade resulted from a net out-migration in <br />Ouray County and Delta City. Montrose City experienced a small increase <br />in population during this period. <br /> <br />The number of urban and rural non-farm residents increased from <br />1940 to 1950, but declined from (k~50 to 1960 (Table II). Estimates of <br />the population for January 1963. however, indicate a reverse in <br />this trend, particularly in the urban population. Farm population has <br />declined continuously from 1940 to 1960 as compared to a similar trend <br />for the State (Table II). <br /> <br />Relative increases in median family income for the study area <br />from 1950 to 1960 compare favorably with that for the State of Colorado <br />(Table II). <br /> <br />9 <br />