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SUMMARY OF REPORT ON REAPPRAISAL OF DIRECT AGRICULTURAL BENEFITS AND PROJECT IMPACTS PAONIA PROJECT - COLORADO Author! ty and Scope This report on the paonia Project, Colorado River Storage Project, has been prepared by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in response to the President's letters of March 19, 1954 to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior. In his letters the President requested that a reappraisal of the direct agricultural benefits anticipated from the participating projects of the Colorado River Storage Project be made by the Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the Department of the Interior. Following the authorization of the Colorado River Storage Project by Congress, an understanding was reached late in July 1956 between the Secretary of Agr!cul ture and the Secretary of the Interior regarding conduct of a survey to reappraise these direct agricultural benefits and to appraise project impacts. The Department of Agricul ture survey was made under the author! ty of Section 6, Public Law 566, 83d Congress, as amended, which authorizes the Departmen~ to cooperate with other Federal, state, and local agencies in surveys and investigations of watersheds. The Colorado A & M College cooperated in the survey. In addition to the agricultural phases, this report deals with the impacts of the project on the national forests and the relation of watershed conditions to the project. The report is intended to aid the Bureau of Reclamation in developing a sound project plan and to provide information bearing on regular programs of thi s department. General Description The Paonia Project is located on the North Fork of the Gunnison River, a major tributary of the Gunnison River, in Delta and Gunnison Counties, western Colorado. Elevation of the town of Paonia is 6,200 feet. The climate is semiarid, with average annual precipitation of 14.95 inches and an average frost-free season for the project area of 145 to 160 days. Irrigation is essential to successful crop production and has been practiced in this and nearby areas since the early 1880's. Evaluation of Expected Direct Agricultural Benefits Procedures and Sources of Information This report is based on available field data, published reports, and the combined judgment of agricultural teChnicians familiar with the project area, and its agricultural problems and conditions. Preliminary reports, land classification maps and field sheets, farm schedules, and other data collected by the Bureau of Reclamation were . made available and have been used to acquaint technicians with proposed developments. iv