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C'J co C'? REPORT OF REAPPRAISAL OF DIRECT AGRICUL TURAL BENEFITS AND ProJECT IMPACTS STI.T PROJECT - Ca-ORADO SUMMARY Authori ty This report on the Silt participating project, Colorado River Storage Project, has been prepared by the U, S, Department of Agriculture in response to the President's letters of March 19, 1954 to the Secreta~ of Agriculture and the Secreta~ of the Interior, In his letters, the President requested that a reappraisal of the direct agricultural benefits, expected to be produced by the participating projects of the Colorado River Storage Project, be made by the Department of Agricu1 ture in cc.n--eration wi th the Department of the Iil.terior. Following authorization of the Colorado River Storage Project by the Congress on April 11, 1956, an understanding was reached in July 1956 between the Secreta~ of Agriculture and Secreta~ of the Interior regarding conduct of a survey to reappraise direct agricultural benefits and to ap- praise project impacts. The Department of Agriculture survey was lIBde under the authority of Section 6, Public Law 566, 83rd Congress, as amended, which authorizes the Department to cooperate with other Federal, State and local agencies to make investigations and surveys of the watersheds of rivers as a basis for the development of coordinated programs. Purpose and Scope The purpose of this report is to present information regarding the soil capabilities for irrigation, the present and future land use and production pattern, the costs associated with on-farm irrigation development, pros- pective size and type of farm, direct agricultural benefits and probable farm incomes with proposed irrigation development for the Silt project. IiI. addition to the agricultural phases, this report deals with the impacts of the project on the national forests and the relationship of watershed conditions to the project. This report also is intended to aid the Bureau of Reclamation in developing their Definite Plan Report, and to provide information bearing on the rela- tionship of the project to the regular programs of the Department of Agri- culture. It is based on the Silt project plan as outlined by the Bureau of Reclamation and is confined to the proposed project facilities and the project lands to which the Bureau of Reclamation plans to furnish irriga- tion water. The assumptions made concerning the level of management and application of practices as a result of project development are not technical recom- mendations of the Department of Agriculture for the best land and water use on the project. It is assumed that the level of management and appli- cation of practices represent the average that will exist during the project evaluation period. i