WSP03239

• File Number: 8040.100
• Description: Section D General Studies - Power
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 10/8/1979
• Author: Colorado DNR
• Title: Preliminary Projections of Colorado Energy Resource Development and Associated Impacts
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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picture. The mere spectre of change is difficult to accept. This is exacerbated
in areas where the change process has not kept pace with the norm. In many of
the areas projected to be affected by "boom" growth, population, values and
attitudes have undergone little change in the last two decades or more. Residents
of these communities have had little or no reason to change during that time
and therefore have not done so.

.

~

The concept of large numbers of new people, new ideas and eventually
a new order is vigorously resisted in the first stages. True, the economic
aspects of the growth are generally welcomed and accommodations are made to take
advantage of new-found wealth. However, the type of planning and attitude
adjustment required to integrate the changing face of the community over the
long haul is rarely seen. The prevailing attitude is directed toward short-
term economic growth, accompanied by a deep-seated hope that it (change) will
all blow over and the community will return to a business as usual mode.
Long-range planning and taking the necessary steps to implement those plans
are steps which portend an acceptance of the change phenomena. It is possible
that the reluctance to change is a primary factor explaining why so little
planning is actually done.

J

As new populations arrive and settle, the general state of unpreparedness
becomes more and more evident. This, in turn, foments dissatisfaction with
the old order. At the point where the dissatisfaction peaks and the population
shifts from a majority of old to new, the old guard is relieved and new people
begin to take over. Since the attitudes, values and perceptions of the new
people differ markedly from those of the old, the change is thrust upon the
old residents. Many adapt and integrate back into the new community. Many,
however, cannot make the shift. This, combined with economic pressures upon
those who are not participating in the economic "boom," has the tendency
to further disrupt the social fabric. Alienation, segregation and a variety
of other phenomena are able to be noted. The extent to which this occurs
proportionately mitigates against the orderly development of the entire
community.

Agricultural Impact

Energy development is. already having a substanuial impact
on Western Slope agriculture, an impact that has more to do with community
stability, changing- -lifestyles and the availability of labor than on the
more easily measurable question of the competition for land and water. Each of
the three energy production scenarios will accelerate that impact.

It's impossible to quantify the extent to which each scenario will impact
agriculture. How, for example, do you possibly predict how many barrels per
day of oil shale production will convince a third generation Meeker rancher to
sell his ranch? There are, however, some important general principles. Given
the three energy production scenarios, the impact on agriculture should be
considered as maximum even in the low, status quo case. This transition is
already taking place on the Western Slope. These impacts, compounded by other
pressures, can do nothing but accelerate.

Direct impacts on land and water cannot be considered as the most crucial
yardsticks of impact for our immediate purposes. As an example, less than
70,000 acres of land statewide have been disturbed since coal mining began in
the 1800's. Energy reSource mapping indicate ~ cropland lies over the state's