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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Yampa Vailey Demand Study The Yampa River is an important but as yet underdeveloped tributary of the Upper Colorado that contains resources which might help preserve natural habitat areas for the endangered Colorado River system fish species. How to best manage the uses of the Yampa River flows to meet both environmental and other human needs is one focus of the ongoing Yampa Fish Recovery and Water Management Plan ("Yampa Plan"), which is part of the Recovery Program for Endangered Fishes of the Upper Colorado. Study Overview In January 1997, BBC Research & Consulting (BBC) was retained by the Yampa Management Team to examine and quantify reasonably foreseeable, long-term water demand for human use in the Yampa River Basin. The location of this river basin is indicated in Exhibit S-1. The study adopted a 50-year time horizon to represent the long-term future. A secondary focus of the study was to develop interim projections of water demand approximately 25 years into the future. These projections might eventually be used in the evaluation of relatively nearer-term infrastructure investments. An important objective of this study was to develop the long-term projections in a participatory manner, obtaining as much local input and review of data sources, assumptions and results as possible. To this end, BBC worked closely with the Yampa River Basin Partnership ("Partnership"), an organization comprised of representatives of local governments, industry, agriculture, water providers, recreationists and other local interests throughout Moffat County and Routt County. Public meetings were held in both Routt County and Moffat County to review the economic and demographic projections. BBC also conducted dozens of interviews with individuals throughout the Yampa Basin with specialized knowledge of local industry, resources, institutional limitations to growth and other factors affecting long-term development and water u