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<br />CHAPTER I <br /> <br />SUMHARY <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />mountain streams while <br />reaches of the riverS4 <br />elevations. <br /> <br />rainbow and brown trout occur in the median <br />Channel catfish have been stocked at lower <br /> <br />Several species of threatened and endangered species are found in <br />the area. The greater sandhill crane, listed as endangered by Colorado, <br />and the Federally listed endangered whooping crane and peregrine falcon <br />have recently been reported. The endangered bald eagle is a winter <br />resident along major waterways. Two Federally listed endangered fish <br />species, the Colorado squawfish and humpback chub, and the Colorado <br />listed endangered humpback sucker and bony tail chub are known to be <br />present in the lower reaches of the Yampa River and in the Green River. <br /> <br />The major energy resources in the area include oil shale, coal, <br />petroleum, natural gas, and uranium. The world's richest known oil <br />shale deposits are located in southern Rio Blanco and Uintah Counties. <br />Commercially feasible bituminous coalbeds are present in much of the <br />area. Petroleum and natural gasfields have been identified throughout <br />the area, especially in Rio Blanco, Moffat, and Uintah Counties. Ura- <br />nium deposits are scattered through the area. Other geological resources <br />include gilsonite and bituminous sands in Uintah County and nahcolite <br />and dawsonite found in association with oil shale. <br /> <br />Social and economic conditions <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The UCRS area is sparsely populated, having only about 26,000 <br />people in 1977, which is less than three people for each square mile <br />of land surface. Only five communities in the area, all in Colorado, <br />had 1977 populations over 1,000. These were Craig with 6,677 people, <br />Steamboat Springs with 4,028, and Rangely, Meeker, and Hayden with <br />less than 2,000 people each. Smaller incorporated communities include <br />Dinosaur, Yampa, and Oak Creek. <br /> <br />Agriculture has been and continues to be the major industry in the <br />area, even though energy-related ventures are gaining in importance. The <br />agricultural emphasis is centered on the livestock industry, namely the <br />production of beef cattle, and sheep. The usual pattern is for the <br />stock to graze on natural rangeland, public and private, for a large <br />part of the year, but to be fed farm-grown feeds during the winter. <br />Irrigation is practiced in the valley bottoms and on lower benchlands to <br />produce winter feed and some summer pasture. <br /> <br />The recent concerns over energy shortages have stimulated renewed <br />interest in oil shale and coal development in the area. Coal production <br />is showing a marked increase, especially in Moffat and Routt Counties. <br />There are present indications that it will accelerate even more in the <br />near future and include some parts of Rio Blanco County. Oil shale <br />production is still facing economic uncertainties. Both industries are <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />4 <br />