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<br />.' ~ <br /> <br />#r~ <br /> <br />during the current fiscal year. However, this considerable delay has <br />not been the fault of Congress. Funds have been appropriated in past <br />years for several of the authorized projects, but were withheld by the <br />Office of Management and Budget. It was therefore with extreme enthu- <br />siasm that we greeted the President's announcement last year that he <br />was recommending funds to initiate construction on four of the autho- <br />rized projects in Colorado, to wit, the Dallas Creek, Fruitland Mesa, <br />Narrows and Savery-Pot Hook projects. Adequate funds are contained in <br />the proposed budget to continue this construction. <br /> <br />In every case, over twenty years of effort have gone into bringing <br />these projects to their present state of construction readiness. Total <br />local, state and federal expenditures exceeding $21,000,000 have already <br />been made on these nine projects. In Colorado, as elsewhere in the <br />nation, we are experiencing a strange reversal of the past two decades <br />of migration from the rural areas to the urban areas. The migration <br />pattern is now shifting back to the rural areas. We regard this as a <br />most welcome sign to prevent further overcrowding of metropolitan <br />areas and to create a more manageable distribution of our population. <br /> <br />Since 1970, Colorado has experienced a population increase of <br />almost fifteen percent. This places our state among the top five in <br />the United States in percentage of population growth. This situation <br />obviously creates some problems for us. The construction of the recla- <br />mation projects already authorized or in the planning stage will create <br />great employment and vocational opportunities for generations to come. <br />We therefore respectfully urge this Subcommittee to act favorably on <br />the construction appropriations for the Colorado projects contained in <br />the President's recommended budget and the funds recommended for the <br />Curecanti, Fryingpan-Arkansas and Uncompahgre Rehabilitation projects <br />which are now nearing completion, with the addition of $850,000 which <br />we seek to initiate construction on the Dolores project. <br /> <br />Advance planning funds for the authorized Animas-La Plata, San <br />Miguel, West Divide and Closed Basin projects are adequate in the rec- <br />ommended budget, as are the recommended funds for various feasibility <br />studies on other projects. <br /> <br />Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, the views, requests <br />and recommendations contained in this brief presentation are those of <br />all of the official agencies of the State of Colorado, including the <br />water conservancy districts which are testifying before this Subcommittee. <br />The recommendations and priorities set forth in this presentation are <br />the result of public hearings and deliberations conducted by the state <br />water board during the past year. The views expressed herein are also <br />the views of the Governor of the State of Colorado and the Colorado <br />General Assembly. We are united as never before in pursuing a course <br />of action which we believe is of vital and overwhelming importance to <br />our state. <br /> <br />I have not attempted to enumerate the specific sums for Colorado <br />reclamation projects contained in the President's budget message, since <br /> <br />-2- <br /> <br />2531 <br />