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. . area ranges from 5,030 feet at Austin in the lower watershed to 6,100 feet at Cedaredge, to 10,900 feet on top of the Grand Mesa. The area below about 6,200 feet elevation is characterized by low precipitation, low humidity, abundant sunshine and a wide range of daily temperature. History and Archaeology - There are no known historical or archaeologi- cal sites in the area. It is recognized, however, that the area has been occupied at various times in the past and there is a good possibility that artifacts may be discovered when working in previously undisturbed soils. Water Supply - Fruitgrowers Dam and Reservoir provides irrigation water for the lower part of the watershed. Water for the balance of the irrigated land is supplied by numerous private and group ditches and storage reser- voirs which depend on direct runoff and cannot be relied upon to meet late season water requirements. Land Resources - The 131,200 acre watershed consists of 61,600 acres of privately owned land, 15,200 acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and 54,400 acres of public land managed by the Forest Service. Of the privately owned land 3,400 acres are in orchard and 9,000 acres are in grain, hay or pasture. Problems and Opportunities Mancos shale, a salt bearing marine formation, underlies the surface soils in much of the eastern part of the watershed. In the Tongue Creek valley the soils are derived from Mancos shale. Subsurface return flow coming in contact with the Mancos shale or its soil derivitives, dissolves the embedded salts and contributes to the salt load ultimately carried by the Colorado River. Lack of water for late season irrigation is the major problemQ~~~20 local people, accentuated by seepage from earthen ditches that convey water from natural streams for irrigation. Some farms receive irrigation water 2 x