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<br /> <br />interest on investment averaging about $1,893 per farm. This return <br />on investment is also available .for family living, investment, and <br />other purposes. Incomes for several farm budgets appear low when <br />compared with some irrigation proJectsurlder llloce favorilhle climatic <br />and soil conditions. However, many farmers also have nonfarm incomes. <br />The Paonia Project has evidently furnished a satisfactory living because <br />farmers have irrigated under present conditions for many years. Future <br />incomes with the project would be considerably higher than at present. <br /> <br />Increased incomes or benefits associated with proposed additienal <br />irrigation water are estimated at $15 per acre on 12,280 acres of <br />presently irrigated farms. If this same benefit is applied on a <br />per-acre basis to 2,100 acres of new land, the total annual direct <br />benefits on 14,380 acres of project land would be about $215,000. <br /> <br />Impacts of the Paonia Project on the Gunnison National Fores~ <br /> <br />As far as can now be foreseen, construction and operation of the project <br />will not require any changes in management, objectives, and physical <br />plant or services now provided on the Gunnison National Forest. However, <br />increased fire prevention services will be needed during and after the <br />construction period. <br /> <br />The county road which now serves a portion of the national forest will <br />need to be relocated. Grazing, timber, wildlife, and other resource <br />values and uses will not be affected. However, it is anticipated that <br />visitors attracted to the reservoir and the adjacent mountainous areas <br />will increase future recreational uses on nearby forest lands. <br /> <br />Construction of the proposed Paonia Reservoir will undoubtedly attract <br />large numbers of people for recreation. Therefore, recreational uses <br />of the reservoir and adjacent land should be planned and facilities <br />installed which will meet basic requirements for public health, safety, <br />property protection, and prevention of pollution. <br /> <br />Suitable lands, adjacent to the reservoir, should be reserved or acquired <br />to be retained in public ownership for these purposes. These lands <br />and the recreational facilities needed should be administered and <br />maintained by a Federal, state, or local government agency to insure <br />and protect the public interests and provide adequate public access <br />to the reservoir area. <br /> <br />Relationship of Watershed Conditions to the Paonia Project <br /> <br />The watershed above the Paonia Project covers about 791 square <br />miles and Laoludea the Anthracite-Deep Creek, Muddy Creek, Hubbard- <br />Terror Creek, and Leroux Creek subwatersheds. 'The area includes <br />various types of topography with considerable mountainous land. <br />There is no cultivated land in the upper watershed. All lands are <br />used either for grazing by livestock and big game animals ,timber <br />production, watershed protection, or recreation and wildlife areas. <br />Land ownership is 81 percent Fedral and 19 percent privately owned. <br />Vegetative cover in the upper watershed is generally good. Localized <br /> <br />vii <br />