Amended Work Plan Kiowa Creek Watershed

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- 3 - The headwaters area is partially timbered, rolling to rough upland, broken by numerous gullies. Climate Precipitation records have been kept by the Kiowa State Bank since 1921. Average annual precipitation at Kiowa from 1931 to 1954 is 16 inches with a low of 6.91 inches in 1939 and a high of 24.04 inches in 1947. Most of this moisture comes in the form of rain during the period April through August Rains are usually of high intensity and short duration. The frost -free growing season, while varying with elevation, averages about 123 days. Land Use The headwaters area is mostly open or wooded (Ponderosa Pine) pasture with small natural or seeded meadows along the bottom. Below 7,000 feet in elevation and scattered throughout the lower part of the uplands are areas of dry cropland totaling 10,940 acres. Of this amount 896 acres are mapped as capability Class III, 3,500 acres as Class IV,. 3,,836 acres are Class VI, and 2,708 are Class VII. Many of the problems of the watershed stem from the improper use of land apparent in these figures. There are 6,840 acres of bottom (flood plain) land within the project area. Of this bottom land 2,720 acres are being cropped and the remainder is native hay, pasture, and stream channel. The 2,720 acres of bottom cropland includes 1,000 acres now being irrigated by sprinklers from irri- gation wells. There are 61,860 acres of pasture considered to average "fair" condition. Of this, 14,500 acres of pasture are forested, while 8,000 acres were once farmed and are in various stages of natural and seeded re- vegetation to permanent grass. Vuhen land conversions have been completed there will be approximately 70,000 acres of pasture and range land within the project area. Economy of the Watershed Accurate figures on the population in this watershed are lacking but it is predominantly rural. About 500 people reside in the towns of Elbert and Kiowa while there are about 100 farm families in the area. The pro- duction of beef cattle and dairying are the chief farm enterprises. Farm units range from 200 to 8,000 acres in size with the average being around 700 acres. The larger units are mostly upland pasture with some bottom - land in native meadow or a small acreage of cropland under irrigation. Many units are too small for efficient operation, leading to overgrazing, misuse of the land, and economic difficulties. Both Elbert and E1 Paso Counties (including the watershed project area) have been designated by the Secretary of Agriculture as "Drouth Feed areas" and are in the area designated for the "Emergency Wind Erosion Control Program ". Considerable land formerly cultivated has been retired to permanent grass cover but there are still 6,544 acres of cultivated Class VI and VII land which should be retired. Two small sawmills operate in the privately owned timbered lands in the upper part of this watershed known as the Black Forest. Proper management of these timber lands is highly important because they are sandy and easily eroded.