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<br />u01965 <br /> <br />The carriage of these non-project water through Mancos Project facilities will not affect the <br />operations of the hydroelectric facility. <br /> <br />3.4 Land Uses <br /> <br />Montezuma Count has a total land area of approximately 1.4 million acres of which roughly one- <br />third are private lands, one-third Ute Mountain Ute Tribal land, and one-third state and Federal <br />lands. The population of the county is 23,000 people. Around 45,000 acres of farmland in the <br />county have adequate irrigation water and many qualify as prime farmlaild. Most of the <br />farmland is located between Cortez and Dove Creek and within the l()wer elS(vations of the <br />Mancos Valley. Major crops are alfalfa, dry beans, wheat and pastu~. No significant affects are <br />identified as a result of these proposed actions. <br /> <br /> <br />3.4.1 Agriculture <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />The lands classified as part of the Mancos Project ~(3a. are primarily found at h:igh~J: elevation <br />above 7,000 feet. Elevation, soils, temperature, precipitation all play a role in reducing <br />agricultural productivity below that of the lower reaches'gfth~':Mancos River ValJey and other <br />agricultural sections of the county. <br /> <br />-. . . . . <br />. - - . - <br />Project area land is primarily utilized to suP.....P......le.'IIl..en. t and provide w.Anter.~.eed for dairy and beef <br />cattle and other livestock. Farming activitie~ha.ve;'~9t substantialry~chai1ged in the area for over <br />a hundred years, even with the assured water.supplYPI'()vid.ed by tQ.€Mancos Project. Most <br />irrigated acreage is found alon.~,the small mesa;loc~ted adJacYI:l,tto the upper drainages (Chicken <br />Creek, West and Middlefq:rk}cglthe Mancos Riyer. Most project water and non-project water <br />is utilized to irrigate pjlStUre lands; a total of 13,746 can be irrigated by the Project and associated <br />private delivery sy&~ms~'No significant affect is identified as a result of these actions. <br /> <br />3.4.2 Recreati()Il <br /> <br />-. - -. '-.-.-, - <br />- - _.. u_ - _ " .. . <br />",,'_ _,--:_,_ -,','__'-'_.. .. "c'" <br />,_._ '_','_' - .. ,0_- _ :'-,"," <br />.' . <br />- .. . -- - <br />,...m ......"- ..m..... <br />Reclam~tIon operateaaQ~1)1aintat1'i~dthe project until 1963 when operation and maintenance, <br />incluQi~g:,I,'~creation manag~jIJ.ent was.tt:ansferred to the Mancos Water Conservancy District <br />(DistrictJ.~kthe request ofUi~District;'Reclamation resumed recreation management in 1975. <br />ReclamatioH:~l.1yeloped and :in..Iplageci'recreation until 1987 . Colorado State Parks assumed <br />management ofW~.area in 19~1] through a long term contract with Reclamation. <br /> <br />'-..,,-..,-' .--' <br /> <br />Colorado State parks:cJ:tr:r~p.tly manages Mancos State Park pursuant to the Memorandum of <br />Agreement between th~cR.eclamation and the State of Colorado for Administration, Operation, <br />Maintenance and development of Recreation at Jackson Gulch Reservoir, contract No. 8-07-40- <br />L0190, Dated March 4, 1988. <br /> <br />Mancos State Park is managed as a State Recreation Area which is defined by statute as a <br />relatively spacious body of water with limited land area under the control of the Division of <br />Parks and Outdoor Recreation (parks). It provides for a full range of water based recreation <br />activities such as wakeless power boating, sailing and fishing, and has sufficient land acreage for <br /> <br />14 <br />