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<br />FUTURE WITHOUT PROJECT CONDITIONS <br /> <br />This section discusses what is likely to occur within the valley over <br />the next ten years in the absence of an accelerated on-farm program for <br />improving irrigation efficiency and reducing the salt load pickup in the <br />river. Farm operators will continue to install improvements in existing <br />irrigation systems and those improvements will have beneficial effects <br />on agricultural water management and salt loading. The increasing <br />population also will require converting more land to urban use. Effects <br />of these actions are included in this discussion. <br /> <br />landowners in the valley are actively applying conservation land treat- <br />ment. Some treatment is applied by individuals on land under their <br />control while other practices are implemented by groups of landowners <br />for mutual benefit. Rates of implementation are influenced by the <br />amount of funds available through government cost-share assistance <br />programs, the practices eligible for government assistance, and the <br />limited capability of those who pursue an improvement program without <br />government cost-share assistance. Application of land treatment is <br />expected to continue whether or not an accelerated program for imple- <br />mentation is forthcoming. <br /> <br />Levels of applied land treatment, projected ten years into the future, <br />are shown in Table 9 and Table 10. Table 9 shows land treatment applied <br />by individuals and by groups on irrigated cropland and Table 10 shows <br />treatment applied on the non-irrigated grazed range sites. <br /> <br />These projections indicate that about one-fourth of the improvements <br />recommended for salinity control may be installed during the next <br />10-year period. Treatment level One assumes future funding for cost- <br />share assistance 25 percent below the average level of funding for the <br />years 1971-1976; level Two assumes continuation of the present average <br />level of funding; and Level Three assumes future funding 2S percent <br />greater than the present average. Federal funds allocated to Mesa <br />County through the Agricultural Conservation Program (ACP) for cost- <br />sharing assistance averaged $91,000 per year during the period between <br />1971-1974; but dropped to an average of $SO,OOO per year through 1974- <br />1976. <br /> <br />30 <br />