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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />44 <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Watson Lake just northwest of the rearing unit is open <br />to pUblic fishing. It is stocked every two weeks with about <br />350 lbs. of fish. The lake was made when the land was <br />excavated for use in construction of Horsetooth Reservoir. <br />The hole then filled in naturally. The fish rearing unit <br />was not built until later years. <br />Water generally flows into the lake from the Poudre <br />River; then it goes into the rearing units, nurse ponds <br />and raceways; finally returning to the Poudre. However, <br />in the winter and when necessary the water can be <br />cycled from the lake to the raceways and back to the lake. <br />Concentrated populations of fish just like <br />concentrations of people have waste products. The <br />water returned to the Poudre River is somewhat polluted <br />with fish waste, food stuff, and other waste. Colorado <br />laws require that settling ponds be built by 1980 to settle <br />out these wastes before returning the water to the river. <br />Watson Lake is open 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily <br />for fishing. The rearing unit is open to visitors from <br />8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Tours can be arranged by tele- <br />phoning in advance (39). <br /> <br />Irrigation <br />The development of irrigation in Colorado began along <br />the Cache La Poudre in the 1860's. The first crops were <br />raised at Laporte and small ditches irrigated the lands <br />close to the river. The Union Colony in Greeley under <br />Nathan Meeker's leadership and Horace Greeley's <br />