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<br />o <br /> <br />~ ' <br />'-'. <br /> <br />- <br />, <br /> <br />-- <br /> <br />cJ <br /> <br />secured practically every year. <br /> <br />Livestock <br /> <br />The upper end of the project including Fort Lewis Mesa and <br /> <br />Thompson Park is located within a few miles of the San Juan <br /> <br />National Forest. Land owners in this section have the senior <br /> <br />water rights from La Plata River in Colorado and have been able <br /> <br />to produce considerable winter feed, even in dry years. The <br /> <br />combination of summer range and winter feed has made this area <br /> <br />primarily a livestock country devoted to raising of beef cattle <br /> <br />and sheep. The numbers of both cattle and sheep per owner are <br /> <br />relatively small, few farmers owning more than 300 head of <br /> <br />cattle or more than 1,000 head of sheep. Most of the cattle <br /> <br />grazed on the forest reserve are wintered locally, but some <br /> <br />owners winter their sheep in New Mexico where there is some <br /> <br />winter range and the climate is less severe. An adequate water <br /> <br />supply will enable somewhat larger feed production on the pro- <br /> <br />ject as a whole, but the benefit will not be so marked in this <br /> <br />seotion. The increase in feed stuff may be expected to in- <br /> <br />crease the number of steers and lambs fed out locally particu- <br /> <br />f <br /> <br />larly in case sugar beet by-products become available. <br /> <br />19 <br />