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<br />. <br /> <br />0-' <br /> <br />1;;-, <br /> <br />THE ECONOMIC BASE <br /> <br />The project will affect the people and economy of La Plata County, Colorado, <br />and San Juan County, New Mexico, by having beneficial influences on agriculture <br />and recreation. On completion of the project, a total of about 180 jobs will <br />be created in both agriculture and related businesses, including almost 70 new <br />on-farm jobs in the two counties, with total wages estimated at over $400,000 <br />annually. With the project, based on 1979 figures, annual gross agricultural <br />production would be increased by an estimated $18,500,000, and annual net farm <br />income would be increased by about $8,800,000. Nearly 35,000 acres of <br />non-Indian full service land will be added to the tax rolls as irrigated <br />farmland. <br /> <br />The project will also help meet anticipated general area recreation needs by <br />providing enhanced opportunities for reservoir boating and fishing, hiking, <br />camping, and picnicking. The construction of Ridges Basin Reservoir will ac- <br />commodate up to 1,800 people per day, providing the area with an additional <br />210,000 recreation days annually. With the construction of Southern Ute <br />Reservoir, up to 700 people per day will be accommodated, providing the area <br />with an additional 97,500 recreation days annually. <br /> <br />INDIAN WATER RIGHTS CLAIMS <br /> <br />An issue of critical importance to people in southwestern Colorado, as well as <br />the rest of Colorado and New Mexico, is Indian tribal claims to water rights. <br />Under the "Winters Doctrine" of 1908, the Supreme Court ruled that when the <br />U.S. Government reserved land for Indian tribes, it also, by implication, re- <br />served sufficient quantities of water for present and future uses of those <br />tribes occupying reservation land. The Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute In- <br />dian Tribes have'filed substantial claims for reserved water rights in all of <br />the rivers in the San Juan River Basin. <br /> <br />Because the reservations were created prior to non-Indi.an settlement in [he <br />Four Corners Area, the tribes' rights on local rivers would receive the highest <br />priority and would curtail other water uses until the Indian water right re- <br />quirements were satisfied. <br /> <br />The Bureau of Indian Affairs has made a detailed preliminary analysis of the <br />agricultural water claims of the two tribes, and the State Engineer of Colorado <br />has attempted to project the impact of the Indian claims on non-Indian water <br />users. On those streams and rivers with high water use, tribal claims could <br />have a severe impact on municipal and industrial water users. In the Mancos <br />and La Plata River drainages, for example, all non-Indian irrigation would be <br />eliminated, and even then tribal claims would only be partially satisfied. <br /> <br />The primary source of Durango's municipal water, the Florida River, could also <br />receive a significant impact from tribal claims. On the Animas River, where <br />the city's water rights are less reliable, the situation could be even worse. <br />In fact, during years of water shortage the Indian tribes could well be the <br />only major water users on numerous streams and rivers in the San Juan River <br />Basin. After years of planning, the Animas-La Plata Project is the most feasi- <br />ble solution to eliminating competition between "the Indian Tribes and <br />non-Indian water users. <br />