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D. Irrigated Agriculture Agricultural users employed a wide variety of strategies to cope with the drought. The rapid onset of the 2002 drought was less critical to farmers because as a group they were expecting severely reduced supplies even at April 1 snowpack levels. Many farmers planted only half of their usual acreage, in anticipation of reduced direct flow and storage supplies. Some switched their cropping mix from full season crops (e.g. feed corn) to partial season crops (e.g. 1- or 2 -cut hay and corn for silage). Even feed corn growers who had not switched to lower water crops before planting cut a higher percent of their crop as silage in response to reduced late season water supply. Livestock owners sold off significant percentages of their herds in expectation of high - priced and reduced feed supply. In northern Colorado, the NCWCD imposed a 70% CBT quota rather than its usual 100% quota because of reduced water in storage. In spite of this reduced quota, CBT allottees are carrying over a total of 50,000 acre -feet (equivalent to 25% of this year's quota) into next year. Most of the water being carried over belonged to cities that used a less -than- normal amount of CBT because of demand restrictions and reduced exchange potential. Some municipal providers leased CBT water from farmers to augment their supplies. Along the South Platte, farmers with both surface water rights and alluvial wells relied more heavily on their well supplies and began bidding up the price of augmentation supplies in anticipation of upcoming augmentation requirements. Cities like Aurora and Denver with excess reusable return flow credits (primarily return flows from imported water) generally leased all their available credits to alluvial well users. Additional water was released from Cherry Creek Reservoir in late August for emergency augmentation of South Platte alluvial wells. Some farmers decided not to farm for this year, and to lease their water supplies to cities instead. E. Recreation Each sector of the recreation industry faced its own problems and met them with differing solutions. Fishing opportunities and guided fishing shifted from rivers to lakes and from spring and late summer to the runoff season (which is normally not a prime stream fishing period). Fishing pressure increased on reservoir- controlled stream segments. The Colorado Division of Wildlife captured and relocated some critically vulnerable populations of native trout species to lakes, reservoir and isolated sections of hatcheries. Rafting companies increased their trips during the peak flow season (which is normally a relatively difficult boating season) and offered trips on rivers that are normally too difficult for commercial rafting during peak flows. Companies also offered more trips on reservoir- controlled river reaches. Golf courses restricted their irrigation to critical areas and allowed some brownout of fringe areas. The 2002 drought generally did not affect Colorado's ski areas because of reasonably good early season snow in 2001 and sufficient reservoir and contract supplies to allow for normal snowmaking in 2002 -2003. In addition, the early snow in the fall of 2002 has made even this supply less critical. 25