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<br />4. Bottomline: The dry fall of 2003 has erased some of the gains made through a wet <br />spring in Northeast Colorado. For early 2004, the odds are not favorable for a wet late <br />winter in much of Colorado. Meanwhile, New Mexico appears locked into severe <br />drought conditions, while Utah and Arizona have mild drought odds, similar to Colorado. <br />For April-June 2004, the northwestern plateau of Colorado is flagged as a potential <br />drought trouble spot, while the remainder of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona <br />have better than normal odds of receiving at least average <br /> <br />Impact Task Force Reports <br /> <br />Department of Local Mfairs <br />There was no report from the Department of Local Mfairs for this meeting. <br /> <br />Joe Lambert. Enerl!V <br />There was no report for this meeting. <br /> <br />Stephanie Demar. Tourism <br />Ms. Delgar reported that some industries rebounded in 2003. She said it was a record year for <br />skiing. Ms. Delgar said the restaurants and lodging were continuing with some water <br />conservation practices. She also said the Golf Association is conducting a 2003 economic <br />impact study, and that she will receive the report later. <br /> <br />Al!:riculture <br /> <br />Real!:an Waskom. CSU Cooperative Extension, gave another agriculture update. <br />Mr. Waskom reported that 2003 was much better than 2002. He said the grain production was <br />closer to average. Winter wheat was off 12% this year, and some ofthe wheat crop is in bad <br />shape now because they need moisture. The soil moisture conditions are very dry. He said the <br />range conditions in eastern Colorado are poor to fair-to-poor and now ranges are becoming more <br />weed filled. Mr. Waskom said we did not recover from ground water deficits in the eastern <br />plains and the San Luis Valley. He also said the cattle industry is still being negatively <br />impacted. <br /> <br />Mary Halstead. Wildlife <br />Ms. Halstead stated that the fall hunts were a little less than anticipated. Numbers for the herds <br />are a little higher than they would like. She said 2002 was a record season when they added <br />more licenses because ofthe drought. They will try to increase the license numbers in 2004. <br /> <br />Robin Knox. Wildlife <br />Mr. Knox said the Fishing Industry is estimated at a billion dollars total economic impact. He <br />said that in 2003 they recovered 50% of the lost license sales from the previous drought year. <br />