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<br />BUREAU OF RECLAMATION REPORT <br /> <br />needed later in the season. Construction of reservoirs required to hold <br />over water from high run-off years to low run-off years is beyond the <br />financial ability of local water users. <br /> <br />Beef and dairy cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry are produced in the <br />area. Because of the high elevation of the project lands, averaging <br />7,000 feet above sea level, and the short frost-free period, averaging <br />109 days, the major crops grown are early maturing grains and forage. <br />Some pinto beans, potatoes, apples, and early vegetables end berries <br />are also produced. Most of the crops are consumed locally, the grains <br />and forage being used to supplement the range resources of the surround- <br />ing forests and other nearby grazing lands. Any surplus is readily <br />marketed in neighboring areas. <br /> <br />Shipping facilities are available via a narrow gage line of the <br />Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad which makes standard gage connec. <br />tions at Alamosa, Colo., and via United States Highway No. 160, which <br />provides good connections for truckers with all pirts of the country and <br />With the Santa Fe Railroad at Gallup, N. Mex. Conunercial air freight <br />and passenger service is also available to the area. Durango, Colo., <br />with a population of about 7,437 in 1950 and located about 9 miles north- <br />west of the project lands, is the principal trading center for the area. <br />Several industries prosper in the San Juan Basin in the general vicinity <br />of the project. These include coal and metal mining, lumber milling, and <br />the production of oil, natural gas, and hellum. Scenic attractions draw <br />many tourists to the region. <br /> <br />Plan of Development <br /> <br />The Florida project would require construction of the Lemon Dam to <br />store water on the Florida River, enlargement end extension of the Florida <br />Fanners ditch, and construction of minor distribution and drainage facil- <br />ities. The works provided would make available storage end direct flow <br />water for 18,950 acres of land, including 12,650 acres now irrigated With <br />only a j:8rtial supply and 6,300 acres now unirriga.ted. Approximately <br />1,000 acres of the land, including 100 acres partially irrigated end 900 <br />acres noW unirrigated, are owned by Indians. Lemon Reservoir formed by <br />the dam would reduce flood flows which nearly every year cause extensive <br />damage along the river course. It would also control the small quantities <br />of silt in the Florida River end would be beneficial to fish and wildlife. <br />The project would not materially affect recreational values and would have <br />no effect on navigation or stream pollution. No municipal or industrial <br />water supplies would be developed by the project end the production of <br />hydroelectric power would be infeasible. <br /> <br />Lemon Reservoir would have a capacity of 23,300 acre-feet, including <br />20,000 acre-feet of active capacity for irrigation and 3,300 acre-feet of <br />inactive capacity for fish and wildlife end silt deposition. The dam <br /> <br />2 <br />