FLOOD10384 ‎(2)‎

• County: Statewide
• Title: Natural Resources of Colorado
• Date: 1/1/1963
• Prepared By: US Department of the Interior
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

and gas development has had its greatest ex-
pansion following World War II in connection
with the general oil and gas development in the
Four Corners area. There are approximately
230 oil and gas leases in effect which cover about
one-half of the area of the two reservations.

C
Ii

!

Timber

The Southern Ute Reservation is the only
Indian land area in Colorado having commercial
forest resources. It contains 25,741 acres of
commercial timberlands that support a net
volume of 120 million board feet of sawtimber.
Ponderosa pine makes up 95 percent of the com-
mercial volume. The remaining 5 percent is
principally Douglas-fir and White-fir. In addi-
tion, there are 125,370 acres of noncommercial
timberlands on the Southern Ute Reservation,
supporting 29 million board feet of pinon pine
and juniper trees.
The Ute Mountain Reservation has no com-
mercial timber, but has 167,761 acres of non-
commercial timberlands with an estimated
volume of 42 million board feet, consisting
mainly of pinon pine and juniper trees.

Irrigation

Within the Indian reservations of Colorado,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs is operating one
major irrigation project, Pine River, with an
ultimate irrigable area of approximately 17,000
acres and several small irrigation systems which
serve only a few hundred acres.
The Bureau is also cooperating with the
Bureau of Reclamation on projects which, if
constructed, will bring under irrigation an
additional 22,000 acres of Indian land.
The rehabilitation of the irrigation system
for the Pine River project is now under way.
When completed, the operation and maintenance
responsibilities will be transferred from the
Government to an acceptable water users
organization.
The water resources associated with Indian
trust lands comprise one of the most valuable
of Indian assets. The population growth and
the continuing expansion of the non-Indian
irrigation in this area have made the control of
water supplies subject to acute competition.
To protect this valuable asset of the Indian

r
I
i
I
i
I

46

through full development of the land and water
resources is one of the major aims of the Indian
Bureau.

Range Resources

Over 91 percent of the Indian land in Colorado
is classified and used as. range for the grazing of
Indian-owned livestock (1,300 cattle; 6,400
sheep). The range land is tribally owned and
is used free by tribal members.
The two tribes, through their programs, are
assisting in development of the range resources
and often provide tribal funds to augment
Government funds for range improvements such
as brush control, reseeding, fencing, and the
like.

Recreation Resources

The Southern Ute tribal members have rec-
ognized the income-producing potentialities of
well planned tourist developments on their
reservation and recently, opened their lands to
public hunting for the second time in history.
They are also cooperating with the Fish and
Wildlife Service to increase their fishery manage-
ment program. Planning for other recreation
potentials is uader consideration.

(Top Right) Visitors inspect a restored deFense area hI
Balcony House, a cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National
Park, Colorado.

(Bottom Right) Remains of the Cliff Palace, an ancient
cliff-dwelling of prehistoric Indians in Mesa Verde Nn-
tional Park, Colorado, as seen From the south.

I
J
J

/
I
I

I
J
j
I
j
.j
1
I
:1
.1

1
f
1
I
,
I
I
~

i
j
i
1
j
I
j
I
.j
\