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<br />''without unreasonably affecting fish, wildlife, or other instream uses and does not <br /> <br /> <br />unreasonably affect the the overall economy of the area from which the water is being <br /> <br /> <br />transferred." (Cal. Water Code, 386) <br /> <br />The economic considerations in California's statute, though offering little concrete <br />guidance to a regulatory agency evaluating a proposed water transfer, increasingly are <br />being incorporated into public interest reviews. University of Colorado economist Charles <br />Howe notes several ways in which transfer of water out of agriculture can affect rural <br /> <br />economies: <br /> <br />(1) backward linkages occur when the reduction in crop acreage reduces <br />demand for inputs, such as labor, machinery and fertilizer; (2) the reduction <br />in crop outputs will reduce the availability of inputs to other production <br />processes such as food processing and feedlots (these are called forward <br />linkages); (3) the reduction in incomes in any sector will lead to reduced <br />consumption demands for outputs from other sectors, thus creating a ripple <br />effect throughout the economy, reducing income by more than the original <br />decrease (these are called multiplier effects),16 <br />Howe concludes that the impacts on rural areas of transfers of agricultural water outside <br />the region "may be even larger if the recipients of the payments for the water do not <br />reinvest their money in new activities in the region."17 <br /> <br />Economic factors are a principal focus of the public interest review in Wyoming's <br />water transfer statute. When considering a proposed change in use or place of use of a <br />water right, the Board of Control is authorized to consider: <br />(i) The economic loss to the community and the state.if the use from <br />which the right is transferred is discontinued; <br />(ii) The extent to which such economic loss will be offset by the new use; <br /> <br />12 <br />