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<br />(j~'3')' <br />LI ~ ~ . '1. <br /> <br />".,- <br /> <br />,'-..' <br /> <br />CHAPTER I <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />Fish and wildlife resources in the Upper Missouri River Basin <br />will be affected by the level, character. and location of human activity <br />in the future. as they have been in the past. Three factors indicate that <br />rapid changes in the level and character of human activity may be antici- <br />pated. First. increasing world, demands for food may stimulate higher <br />levels of agricultural production in this predominantly rural region. <br />Second, the environmental amenities of parts of the basin attract new res- <br />idents and are responsible for a high rate of population growth in certain <br />areas. Third, major energy resources located in the region make it a key <br />potential source of expanded energy production in an era of national energy <br />shortage. <br /> <br />.. ." <br />r' -.... . . ~.'", <br />, :."t:'{/~3:.~}.r;:.,>:,::~~ <br /> <br />". -. .~ -. . .~.~ .", <br /> <br />In the Upper Missouri Basin, water is limited in quantity and <br />unevenly distributed, both seasonally'and geographically. As all forms of <br />life require water, competition for available water is a major activity of <br />natural communities in the Upper Missouri Basin, and of human communities <br />as well. Social institutions for allocating water occupy a prominent place <br />in the economic and political structure of the region. <br />The ways in which water is allocated and managed to support human <br />activity can cause changes in the natural environment upon which fish and <br />wildlife depend. There is growing social concern that the economic bene- <br />fits from increasing use of water and other resources be adequately weighed <br />against the environmental changes, including those relating to fish and <br />wildlife, which such uses'produce. Many alternatives with both technolog- <br />ical and institutional dimensions exist for pursuing human goals, and the <br />implications of these alternatives for natural resources vary widely. <br />Choosing wisely among the available technological and institu- <br /> <br />. .... <br /> <br />..;::......< <br /> <br />.....,... <br /> <br />-::'-'.: -~.:;: /~...- ",:.;. <br />::::. ,':-.,:.:'~;:">~:'- <br />. .". ..~.' ;."' <br /> <br />. '-. <br />::~,:_,;< ::;:;,: :'-, <br /> <br />\. . ..",<: <br /> <br />.~.. ." <br /> <br />.:. ':." <br /> <br />1 <br />