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• <br /> <br />-4- <br />The project area lies within the Upper Sonoran Life Zone. Principal <br />vegetation on the new lands proposed for irrigation consists of <br />sagebrush, greasewood, and rabbitbrush with some grasses. The <br />adjacent hills support sparse to moderate stands of juniper and <br />oak. Belts of vegetation composed of willows, cottonwoods, and <br />some alders occur along the streams. The climate is semiarid and <br />varies locally with elevation, slope, and exposure. Temperature <br />extremes from 50 below to 100 degrees have been recorded. The <br />average frost-free period is from early June to early September, <br />and precipitation averages slightly over 12 inches annually. <br /> <br />The entire area is sparsely settled. Baggs, Wyoming, near the center <br />of the project, is the largest town--with a population of 146 <br />. (Figure 4). Dixon and Savery, Wyoming and Slater, Colorado, are <br />the other small settlements in the project area. Their combined <br />population probably does not exceed 150 people. Rawlins, Wyoming <br />. (70 miles north of Baggs), and Craig, Colorado (40 miles south), <br />are the largest centers of population within a 100-mile radius. <br />Agriculture (ranching) is the principal industry. Livestock <br />production and the raising of forage crops are the main sources <br />of income. Irrigated lands along the streams are essential for winter <br /> <br /> <br />