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r::'l C"} >- U1 (..) Two rather significant developments have influenced the economy of the area. One was the introduction of the be~t sugar industry and the successful establishment of sugar refineries, which have tended to produce a type of farming centered mainly around the growing of sugar beets a~d the feeding of livestock. The other was the expansion of irrigation facilities beyond the available water supply. Since lrrigable land was plentiful, it was natural in the process of water development for irrigation companies to spread the cost of irrigation works over as large an acreage as possible L~ order to attract a maximum number of land buyers and new settlers. This brought more acres under irrigation projects than could be served fUlly by the available water supoly; hence, water shortages have continually plagued the irrigators, particularly in years of low runoff, in late summer months) and on lands with junior water rights. The present semi-intensive diversified type of agriculture has been developed mainly as a means of making the most efficient use of a water supoly which is inadequate to obtain optimum agri- cuI tural production. The increased water supoly which will be pro- vided by Colorado-Big Thompson Project facilities will make optimum agricultural oroduction nossible. Power The natural topography enco~nassed by the oroject presents an ideal opportunity for multiole use of water through installation of hydroelectric power nlantso The nroject water supply orir.1nates in the mountainous upoer reaches of the Colorado qiver Basin and is delivered to the east ~lope of the qocky Mountains at 8J250 feet above sea level. From here it must be conveyed more than 20 miles to the agricultural areas situated on the western "!dge of the Great Plains at about 5,400 feet above sea level~ As the water makes this tremendous drop of more than! mile7 it will be harnessed to produce over a half billion kilowatt-hours of firm electric energy a~nually~ Revenues derived from marketing this energy will pay a major proportion of project construction costs. Recreationl Fish and Wildlife Many project reservoirs are located in a region famous for its mountains~ forests7 and streams. Superb recreational opportunities, including winter sports, hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking, are found in Arapaho and ~cosevelt Natlonal Forests and ~ocky Mountain National Park. Continued develoD~ent of project-created resources, in cooperation ~~th the National Park SerVice and the F1Sh and Wildlife Service, will assure maXlmum public use of project reservoirs 5