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<br />focuses primarily on the <br />Where appropriate, the <br />site-specific information. <br /> <br />envirornnental consequences of the proposed action. <br />affected envirorunent is described briefly for <br /> <br />Social and Econanic <br /> <br />Affected environment <br /> <br />population <br /> <br />Montrose County had a 1984 population the state estimated to be 25,827, a <br />1. 5 percent annual increase fran 1980. Paradox Valley is a very sparsely <br />populated area. Two small farming ccmnunities, Bedrock and paradoxt lie within <br />the valley. Local leaders estimated the ccmnunities' 1985 population at 90 and <br />150, respectively, no official population estimates were available for the two <br />ccmnunities. Bedrock experienced a 1.9 percent annual increase since the Final <br />Environmental Statement was written in 1978, Paradox a 3.8 percent annual loss. <br />Because of the demise of the uraniun industry and decline in small-scale <br />agriculture operations, little growth is anticipated for the two ccmnunities in <br />the next few years. <br /> <br />Uravan, a Uretco Minerals Corporation (formerly Union Carbide) owned town <br />lies about 10 miles northeast of Bedrock and had an estimated 60 residents in <br />1985. This figure represents a loss of 590 residents, since 1978, because of <br />the closing of the Unetco uraniun mill. In late 1985, houses were being rerroved <br />fran Uravan in anticipation that the uraniun mill would not regain its previous <br />level of activity. The only incorporated towns near Paradox Valley are Naturita <br />and Nucla. The State of Colorado estimated Naturita's 1984 population at 760t a <br />1. 5 percent annual decline fran 1978, and Nucla I s population at 880, a 3.1 <br />percent annual loss. Both towns lie about 20 miles northeast of Bedrock. When <br />Colorado ute Electric Co. finishes revamping its coal-fired power plant near <br />Nucla (currently scheduled for mid-1987), the two towns could experience SaTE <br />growth (about 45 employees) associated with the powerplant employment increase <br />and resumed operation of the local coal mine that fuels the power plant. <br /> <br />The racial canposition of Montrose County in 1980 included 96.4 percent <br />white, 0.4 percent AIrerican Indian, 0.1 Asian and Pacific Islanders, and 3.1 <br />percent other races. The ethnic group of Spanish origin accounted for 9.7 <br />percent of the population. Persons of Spanish origin ITI3Y be of any race. <br /> <br />Econanic System <br /> <br />Econanic sector activity.-About 100 people in the unit area, including the <br />ccmnunities of Nucla, Naturita, Paradox, Bedrock, and Uravan, derive their ITI3in <br />incaTE fran agriculture, a relatively stable sector for the past 100 years. <br />Agricultural activity consists ITI3inly of cow-calf operations. Cattle winter on <br />locally grown hay and SUlllller on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management <br />(BIM) pasture land. In 1985, agriculture was the leading econanic sector in the <br />unit area, both in tenns of nunber employed and property taxes generated. <br /> <br />Coal mining was nonexistent in the Paradox Valley area in 1985. One mine, <br />inoperational for several years, exists at Nucla. The mine previously fueled <br /> <br />9 <br /> <br />00 <br /> <br />51 <br />