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<br />Sl.lMMABY !lEPORT <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />Preconstruction investigat10ns of some phases of the Pine River proj- <br />ect extension made since the project was authorized by the act of April 11, <br />1956 (70 Stat. 105) show that the extension is not justified as a Federal <br />reclamation development. This condition has resulted largely from chMges <br />that have occurred since the project was first planned and to a lesser <br />extent because recent detailed studies, including land classification, <br />drainage investigations, and economic analyse", show soma land areas to be <br />less favorable for agriculture than indicated by the preliminary studies <br />made a nUlllber of years ago., This report describes the tactors that changed <br />the evaluation ot the project and appraises the project under present <br />conditions. <br /> <br />Project Plan <br /> <br />The potential Pine River project extension is located in southwestern <br />Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The project, as I>J"'T'l1ed and author- <br />ized for construction, consists primarily of the enlargement and extension <br />ot eight major canals and ditches and construct10n of one diversion dam <br />and numerous "'lJa]] distribution laterals. These works 'Were planned to <br />bt..I.ng water to 15,150 acres ot land. not previously irrigated. The water <br />would be supplied l'rimarily from the Vallecito Reservoir on Pine River, <br />constructed in 1936-41 by the Bureau of Reclamation as the only feature <br />of the Pine River project. A map of the project extension as originally <br />planned appears as' the' tr6ntisptl,j:lae to this report. <br /> <br />Project AuthoJ:izat'ion <br />" <br /> <br />The Pine River project extension is one, of 11 projects in the Upper <br />Colorado River Basin authorized by the act of April 11, 1956, as partici- <br />pating projects in the plan for the Colorado River Storage project. Four <br />initial units of the storage project were also authorized by that act. <br />All of the authorized projects and units are linked financially through <br />the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund. <br /> <br />Changes Affecting the Project <br /> <br />Authorization of the Pine River project extension was based largely <br />on a report of January 1951 by the Bureau of ReClamation, issued as a <br />supplement to the Bureau' s December 1950 report on the Colorado River <br />Storage project and participating projects. The 1951 report, a.s expla.ined <br />