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I I I I I !I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1.0 INTRODUCTION This preliminary evaluation of alternative water management plans for the Upper Gunnison and Uncompahgre River basins was conducted by the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority (Authority) at the request of the study sponsors: the Upper Gunni son Ri ver Water Conservancy Di stri ct (UGRWCD) and the Colorado River Water Conservation District (CRWCD). In the i ntroduct i on that foll ows, the project background is addressed, as are the study authorization, objectives, and process. Also discussed are the publ ic involvement program and the organization of this report. 1.1 BACKGROUND AND PERSPECTIVE The area investigated in this Study (the Study Area) is the Upper Gunnison Sub-basin (upstream of Crystal Dam) and the Uncompahgre Sub-basin, as shown in Fi gure 1.1. Located in west central Colorado, the Study Area is bordered by the Conti nenta 1 Di vi de to the east and southeast, the San Juan Mountains to the south, the tuwn of Delta to the west, and the North Fork of the Gunnison and Roaring Fork watersheds to the north. The study area encompasses approximately 5120 square miles of land, which is approximately 13 percent of the entire area of Western Colorado (west of the Conti nenta 1 Divide). For close to a century, agriculture has been the largest user of water within the Study Area. The Gunnison River Basin was controlled by the Ute Indians until a large tract was opened for settlement in 1873 and the remainder of the basin was ceded in 1881. The first settlers were miners, many of whom turned to farming and ranching as their means of livelihood when the mining industry declined after 1893. Agriculture soon established itself as the basic industry in the area. Irrigation was found necessary to mature crops, with the result that extensive agricultural water supply systems were developed in the ensuing years. 1-1 Ii 10003132